It's A Baby Stupid
by Penelope Jones
Summary: Everyone's favourite odd couple are back in this action packed sequel. They've faced wrathful parents and drunken mistakes plus a slightly unhinged Dark Lord. Now they're facing their toughest challenge yet… parenthood. Sequel to Marry Me Stupid.
1. Hypothetically

Note: You don't have to have read the first one but I recommend it just so you get used to my zany writing style and honestly, due to my not so excellent sequel writing skills, I think it'd help you understand this story better.

Double Note: If anyone wants to write me a better summary please do so! Thanks! All right…

- Dedicated to everyone and anyone who loved the first one. I wrote the second just for you and only you. Go ahead think you're super special, I do. Penny

* * *

**It's a Baby Stupid**

_By Penelope Jones_

Chapter One: Hypothetically

I stood in the crowded supermarket staring at the display in front of me dully. _'Just do it!'_ I snapped at myself, _'Lily Evans is never afraid'_. Ok she totally is. She really is. Lily Potter is slightly more confident and it's her that's in this mess… Lily Evans is lost forever you're a different woman now. You're _married_ now.

I took a deep breath preparing myself. _Just pick up the box woman!_

I had overcome many hardships in my life… drunken wedding nights, closed minded family members and even a dark wizard. I could handle this, I could all, I had to do was pick up the box. It might not even be… I might just be a few days late, it wouldn't mean… just pick up the box. Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick up the fucking box!

I sighed and lifted my left hand; I stopped and stared at the rings on my index finger. What would James say? God he was almost done with his training. We were trying so hard to not take handouts from his parents and the stress of a single income house hold was enough. He was stressed I knew it; we'd already had arguments which weren't to particularly unusual but to add a baby… oh God…

_Lily Potter you pick up that box right now! _

I sighed and stretched my hand out.

"Lily!"

I jumped nearly a foot and quickly leapt over to stand near the shampoos. My husband James Potter hurried down the aisle to stand beside me.

"Ok, we can afford either corn cobs" he held up the packet, "or mint chocolate chip ice-cream" he held up the tub trying to make it appear more enticing then the corn cobs.

"James, I need the corn for the roast on Saturday. Remember your parents are coming over"

"But Lily… ice-cream" he said seeming more like a six year old then the nineteen year old he really was. And this was the father of my possible child…

"Put it back" I said sternly making him sigh and scuff his shoe on the linoleum floor.

"Fine…" he muttered childishly. He looked up at me and gave me a grin showing he wasn't really that upset. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just browsing shampoos, I'm thinking of switching to a cheaper one" I said

"Right… but shampoos are down the other end love" he said and pointed.

"I know I only just walked into this aisle" I said indicating that I entered from around this end.

"No you didn't. You've been standing here for a while looking at… diapers" he frowned at the shelf. I realised I had indeed shifted from pregnancy tests to stare at diapers. Curse me jumping in the wrong direction.

"Bandaids" I said stepping over once more to find the bandaids next to the diapers.

"Are you ok? You've been acting weird"

"You've been acting weird" I retorted, "Go get some apples!" He dropped the corn into the basket at my feet and hurried away. I scooped up the basket and snatched a pregnancy test off the shelf flinging it into the basket. An old lady was frowning at me and then she tutted.

"What I'm married!" I snapped and then stormed off. Stupid lady with her holier-than-thou attitude. She was probably married at my age.

I finished my shopping and found James staring at apples. I grabbed a bag of red ones before storming off to the check out counter. He trailed along miserably behind me, "Was it something I did?" he asked

"No, shut up!" I said and then glared at the conveyer belt.

It wasn't his fault… well not really. We'd both gotten drunk on our graduation night and wound up married. The problem we kind of hated each other. After being tricked through some legal jargon we were not allowed to divorce for a year. It was then we'd fallen in love. Strange yes I know but I wouldn't have it any other way. We were both so hot-headed that really I think it was kind of the perfect way for us.

We went through the check out quickly paid the bored teen and headed out to the car. James was carrying everything so I got into the passenger seat and glared moodily out the window.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked as he slid in behind the wheel. I glared at him murderously.

"Yes I'm all right and if you ask me again I'm going to rip your penis off" try knocking me up then you bastard…

"All righty" he said starting the car. We drove home in silence and I helped carry the groceries into our house.

It was actually a rather large house split down the middle so two separate people could live there. Our half was the slightly smaller half with only one bedroom, one bathroom and a shared kitchen dining and living room area. The backyard was pretty small and the front garden didn't even have a gate for our half. You had to step over a wall… if I was pregnant we were definitely going to have to move.

I walked into the house and down the narrow hallway to dump the groceries on the bench in the kitchen.

"Hello Lily-flower" I turned and threw the first thing in my hand. It was a packet of peas. It hit Sirius Black square in the face; he caught it as it fell and frowned at it.

"Why is he always here?" I screamed at James. My poor husband who had just entered the room jumped at being screamed at.

"My house is being fumigated I told you" Sirius said simply. I gave him a dark look and then glared at James.

"Do you want him to go?" James asked and I shook my head.

"I'm sorry… it's… just…"

"Your time of the month" James finished and I glared at him. "You wrote it on the calendar!" he cried defensively "You kept nearly killing me when you blew things up accidentally so you wrote it down so I'd remember to wear protective clothing near glassy objects"

"Oh… right" I said quietly, "I'm going to have a shower" I grabbed some things from the shopping bags. I headed into the bathroom and flipped on the shower tearing open the pregnancy test and reading the instructions. Blue for no pink for yes, fairly simple…

Results in ten minutes… I rolled my eyes, stupid Muggle test…

Eight minutes to go… I stood reading the back of a shampoo bottle trying to keep my mind off the stupid test.

Five minutes…

Three minutes… I began pacing,

Two minutes… I sat down on the closed toilet and bit at a nail.

One minute… there was a knock on the door, "What?"

"Can I just talk to you for a minute?" James asked. I sighed and then realised I was supposed to be having a shower. I quickly shed my clothes and jumped under the spray screaming at the cold water. I shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around myself before slipping out into the hall.

"What?" I asked him.

"I'm leaving for work" he said

"Right now?" I asked and he nodded. I glanced into the bathroom for a second before looking back at him.

"It's nearly five o'clock" he said and I took his hand to look at the watch on it, "I just didn't want to go with you mad at me"

"I'm not mad at you" I said softly. I heard the bathroom door close and bit my lip trying to control my flaring temper. "Was that Sirius?"

"Yeah but can you blame him honey? You do take a while in the bathroom…" James said quietly and I nodded plastering a smile on my face. I felt like screaming and kicking things which today wouldn't have been so unusual. I'd been snapping at James all day and I could see he was prepared for me to scream but I didn't.

"You go work, I love you" I said and kissed him softly.

"Love you to…" he said slowly glancing between the closed door and me a little worriedly.

"Go" I said kindly and he nodded slowly. He kissed me again quickly and then was gone. I knocked on the door and called to Sirius as sweetly as I could. "Can I have the bathroom back?"

The door swung open and he smiled his charming grin at me.

"Of course Lily-flower" he said and stepped aside. I hurried inside and slammed the door in his face. I turned to the counter and gasped. It was gone!

I pulled the door open once more and hurried into the living room. Sirius was sitting on the bench with a small smile.

"Good afternoon" he said as if I hadn't seen him moments ago.

"Give it Black" I said

"Give what?" he asked innocently.

"The pregnancy test, hand it over" I ordered. His face went blank

"That was a pregnancy test?"

"Yes I peed on that stick and everything" I said and he blanched. "Where is it?" he pointed to the trash can which burped happily. "Your such an idiot sometimes Sirius I wonder how you manage to remember breathing"

I walked back into the bathroom and grabbed the now empty box.

"Lily I had no idea" he said when I walked back into the kitchen.

"Yes well now you get to go back to the store and buy another one… now!" I said showing him which one I wanted by holding up the box.

"I do stupid-"

"I know just go before I kick you" I ordered. He leapt off the bench and hurried away.

I headed back to the bathroom to finish my shower and when I was done I stepped into the hall to find Sirius grinning at me. He handed me the test spinning me around and pushing me back into the bathroom.

"Sirius, calm down it's not your kid" I muttered slipping past him to walk into the kitchen.

"I just can't believe it; you guys have been married nearly two years, two years already if you count the first time. Now having a kid-"

"We don't know that yet"

"Take the test"

"I don't need to pee" I said

"Lily this is killing me, I could be an uncle come on!"

"Sirius that's not-"

"Take the test!" he urged so I headed over to the sink and filled up a glass of water. I drank it quickly and then poured another. Four glasses later I snatched the test from a far too happy looking Sirius and headed into the bathroom.

I came out a few minutes later and headed into the kitchen. I put the test on the bench and Sirius took my hands staring at the stick waiting for it to change colour.

"Thought of a name yet?" he asked

"Sirius I don't even know if I'm having it yet"

"You're going to get rid of it?"

"No! I mean it could just be that my monthly is a few days late. I haven't been feeling sick or anything" I said with a shrug.

"What do you think it is?"

"I'm hoping it's a unicorn because that'll be so easy to give birth to" I said and Sirius scowled.

"Why aren't you excited?"

"Because I'm going to have to push a human being out of my vagina. It barely fits James' cock"

"Thank you for that" Sirius muttered awkwardly. I turned to make some tea and Sirius shouted and grabbed my arm.

"What?"

"It's purple" he said

"What?" I asked and stood beside him.

"What's purple mean?"

"Inconclusive…" I muttered.

"Disappointed?" Sirius asked

"No, not really" I said with a shrug.

"Of course you are" he grinned and then poked my stomach making me smile, "You want a pudgy little you running about screaming and breaking things"

"I don't know… I'm not that old you know… I just think it'd be better to have kids after James' training finishes, when his hours are more regular or whatever" I said.

"Well I think Muggles are shit at making anything so I decided it'd be better if you tried a magical pregnancy test" he suggested and held it up. "It will be a magical baby after all"

"Um… I don't think that's how it works" I muttered

"No but it'll be far more accurate" he said waving the box and giving me a charming grin. The man could sell air conditioners to Eskimos.

"Do I have to pee again?" I asked warily.

"No, just a little blood"

"Of course all things magical require some blood don't they?" I sighed and held out my hand.

"What?" he asked staring at my hand blankly.

"Well if I prick it I'll probably faint" I explained and he nodded

"I suppose fainting isn't too good for the baby" he muttered.

"No not really…" I said and watched him open the box. He pulled out a small vial filled with a smoky white liquid.

"Blue for no and pink for yes" he said and I nodded. Not that different…

He pulled the stopper off and used the sharp edge concealed in it to prick my finger. I watched him squeeze my finger holding it over the potion. I bit my lip as a few drops fell in to it. He put the bloody stopper back on and I watched silently as he shook it carefully. He stopped shaking it and we watched the liquid inside swirling and stop.

"Oh…" I said quietly.

"Oh indeed" Sirius said.

"Don't tell him" I said turning to Sirius. He raised his eyebrows and stared down at me like I was nuts.

"You want me to keep a secret from my best friend?" he asked

"It's not a secret" I said and Sirius frowned

"Well no I guess not…" he muttered looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"What do I have to do to make you shut up?" I asked

"Go see a doctor"

"Sirius!"

"Lily!" he retorted mimicking my tone, "These things are always shitty" with that he tossed the potion in the bin.

"Fine, I'll call my doctor but-"

"No, you're going to mine"

"Yours?" I repeated and he nodded with a wide grin. "Ok, ok but you keep your big mouth shut about all this all right"

"Marauders honour" he promised and I rolled my eyes.

* * *

James

I yawned while Moody spoke. Rude yes but I was tired. It was nearing home time and I was thinking of sleep. As I worked from five in the afternoon till about six in the morning I barely got to spend any time with Lily. Yesterday had been nice although the yelling and things had kind of put me off her so I was glad I could have some uninterrupted sleep when I got home. Kim McKay was sitting opposite me and she stifled a yawn making me grin. I was not the only one thinking of home.

"Ok" Moody growled dismissing us. I hurried off with Kim and we headed to the lifts. Auror training wasn't much; mostly you got to watch other people work. 'Learning by doing gets people killed in these times' was popular opinion nowadays. I found it horrible but Lily and I had agreed that dwindling the Potter fortune just so I wouldn't have to be in a job that bored me to tears wasn't good.

"What about our children James? There'll be none left for them" Lily had snapped in another one of her very irritated moods. She'd been more high-strung then usual reminding me of when we were at school together and she'd curse me every time I spoke to her.

I was looking forward to going home and avoiding her – fuck we hadn't even been married two years and I was already hating her. No I didn't hate her… I loved her she was just…

"How are things with the wifey?" Kim asked with a small smile. She loved saying wifey. We had both been lowly little interns together just after I'd graduated from Hogwarts. So Kim had been one of the many people who'd seen Lily and I fall all over ourselves like idiots to deny our love when we'd accidentally got married graduation night. (A/N: Wanna know more read the first one!)

Kim was quite happy to gloat with an 'I-knew-all-along' kind of attitude. Much like everyone else who knew about the busted up drunk first time. We'd come a long way from then, Lily and I, even getting married for real. I thought we were pretty happy but I guess we'd kind of reached that slump all relationships fall into.

I could only sigh in reply to Kim's question and she raised her eyebrows, "That good huh?"

"She's just been different lately" I muttered with a shrug.

"She's probably pregnant" Kim said with a small laugh.

"_Right_" I said laughing with her but I was seized with a momentary panic. I hurried home as quickly as I could without running like a madman.

I was soon making my way up the garden path and then briskly inside. I stopped in the hall and slammed the door open to my bedroom. Lily, the girl could sleep though a thunder storm, slept on. I watched carefully, she rolled over and I thought she was waking up but she didn't. I headed into the living room where Sirius lay sleeping on the couch.

"Sirius!" I shouted and he sat up immediately. My best friend looked around groggily for a moment with sleepy grey eyes.

"I didn't do it" he said quickly.

"Do what?" I asked

"Nothing" he said and ran a hand through his messy dark hair. He looked up and his eyes widened. He'd obviously just realised where he was, "James, your home"

"Yes… sometimes I return here after I'm finished being a contributing member of society as apposed to a good for nothing mooching mutt" I said and he flashed me a grin.

"Did you speak to Lily?"

"No, the woman sleeps like a rock. If there's a fire we're all doomed, she's the only one that's any good with those life saving kind of spells" I said

"I'll resist the urge to burn things" Sirius said and I nodded. "So you haven't spoken to her?"

"Nope, not even a 'fuck off James' when I slammed the door so she's sleeping pretty soundly"

"Right well in that case bye" he said

"What?" I asked

"That lamp is gay" he said quickly and I frowned at the lamp he'd indicated.

"What?" I asked again but he just grinned and then disappeared. I shook my head and headed back to my bedroom. I flopped down onto the bed beside Lily and fell asleep with exhausted ease.

I was awoken a few ours later by screaming. No it wasn't screaming it was crying. I quickly got up and hurried into the kitchen skidding to a halt where I found Lily.

Her red hair was covered in what I could only see was a creamy kind of goo. She looked frazzled her hair kind of sticking up and her green eyes wide. She was holding something in her arms.

"What the hell is that?" I asked over the noise.

"It's a baby stupid" she replied as if it were obvious. It was obvious. Lily was indeed holding a squirming screaming baby in her arms.

"Does it shut up?" I asked and Lily raised her eyebrows.

"No James, I haven't been able to find the off switch yet, you try" she held the baby up and I frowned at it.

"Lils I have to work tonight I need to sleep" I said and glanced at the clock. It was nearly ten in the morning and I'd gone to bed a little before seven.

"Just take the baby!" she ordered. I sighed and took the baby out of her arms. "How do you feel?"

"Like an idiot… did you kidnap someone's baby?" I asked as the baby in my arms became a little quieter.

"No of course not. You know how sometimes I clean the neighbour's houses?"

"Yes" I said nodding. Being cooped up all day was not a strong point of Lily's but she hadn't been able to figure out what she wanted to do for a living yet.

"Well I do the Grangers house on Thursdays. They live just down the road and had a baby girl a few months ago. They agree to let me watch her while they go and get their keys fixed. Accidentally locked themselves out of the house" Lily said with a small smile as she watched me. The baby girl had stopped crying now and was squirming playfully in my grip.

"Aw James you're a natural, you got her to stop" Lily said happily.

"Yeah, it's fantastic. Anyway… why did you agree to watch a baby? You have like no experience"

"Don't you feel anything, you got her to stop crying doesn't that make you feel good?" Lily pressed.

"I don't know. Did you wake me up just so I could hold her? Because I am exhausted"

"Well if we had a child you'd be exhausted then too"

"Lily if we ever have a kid it'll be when I'm like thirty and used to being exhausted…" I said and smiled at her. She gave me a small smile back. I handed the baby back to her and kissed her cheek, "I'm going back to bed…"

"James"

"Mm?"

"What if… say hypothetically this was our baby… would you just say hi for a moment then hand her back to me?"

"Hypothetically?" I repeated and then frowned at her, "Lily… did you adopt this baby to prove a point? Am I not here enough?"

"No, it's really the neighbour's child. I was just wondering you know that if we, hypothetically, had a baby I would most likely be the one to stay home and be with it right?"

"Well I suppose, this is hypothetical right?" I asked

"Yes. This isn't our baby" she assured me and I nodded.

"If you hadn't thought of anything you wanted to do then yes I suppose you would stay home"

"And when you came home from work… would you give me a break from this hypothetical baby or would you just do what you did and give it back after a few moments?"

"Uh… I don't know Lily"

"Hypothetically, what would you do?"

"Is this important? I'm suddenly very paranoid that this is some kind of test"

"No, no. Nothing like that, it's just looking at this baby got me thinking about some things. Don't worry though, there's no wrong answer or anything because it's all hypothetical"

"Your saying hypothetical an alarming amount of times" I said and she shrugged.

"Isn't this what married couples do though? You know they talk about the future and stuff" she said

"Sure but I don't think either of us are really ready for the baby talk yet. I'm still a baby myself"

"James, just face it, you're never growing out of that" she said and I smiled.

"Are you done hypothesising for the day?" I asked and she nodded

"All right then, if me going back to bed now doesn't put me on your hit list for some hypothetical problem I will go do that" I said and she smiled leaning up a little to let me kiss her.

"Good night love, night random baby" I said and Lily smiled. I headed back to the bedroom flicking my wand at the window to make the curtains close.

I woke once more at about two thirty cursing the bright sunlight that the curtains couldn't repel. I got up had a shower and found Lily sitting on the couch reading a book. The baby had been returned to her rightful mother and Lily had cleaned herself up a bit.

Sirius had now returned and was sitting in a chair near Lily, he too was reading. I had to do a double take before I realised his book was upside down. I breathed a sigh of relief; all was right with the world.

"So… James… talk to Lily yet?" Sirius asked. Lily looked up sharply probably irritated at being talked about like she wasn't there.

"I _just_ got up Padfoot" I said

"Want some breakfast honey?" Lily asked me sweetly.

"I'll make it" I said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Lily" Sirius said and I turned, watching my wife curiously.

"Sirius" she said warningly and he fell silent glaring at her over to top of his upside down book. He'd obviously been waiting for me to get up so he could tell me something. He'd hinted at it this morning and was trying to again but Lily had some way of keeping him quiet. Already through just this I'd discovered that Lily was hiding something and Sirius knew exactly what it was. So my friend wouldn't be allowed to come out right and say it without incurring the wrath of Red Fury. My guessing whatever it was however is completely fair and Sirius seemed pretty determined for me to guess.

"What is it boy?" I asked eagerly and patted my knees as if calling a dog. Lily smiled slightly and Sirius frowned. "Is Timmy stuck down the well?"

With a small pop Sirius turned into a large shaggy black dog and barked at Lily startling her. She sat up straighter on the couch while the dog barked.

"Come on Padfoot, is it Lily?" I asked and Padfoot barked at me once. "Is Lily stuck down a well?" Padfoot whined and lay down putting his paws over his eyes.

"I'll take the dog for a walk shall I?" Lily said standing up and nudging Padfoot. "Come on it's nearly three" Padfoot sat up and barked merrily wagging his tail.

She patted his head once before turning to me, "You might be gone before I get back so I love you" she said and I kissed her softly.

"Love you too" I said and she smiled.

"Come on" she said to Padfoot and he turned back into Sirius.

My friends and I had become Animagi to help my werewolf friend Remus Lupin. We couldn't be with him as humans on the full moon so we stayed with him as animals. Sirius was quite fond of hopping around in his Animagus form of a dog which blended in a lot more easily in suburban areas then my stag did. That didn't stop me occasionally stumbling home from the pub as a deer with a tipsy friend on my back. Deer are surprisingly sturdy even when inebriated.

Sirius was looking desperately between Lily and me and decided it was well worth the Red Fury by spilling whatever it was he knew.

"You should talk to her abo - ow" Lily grabbed him by the ear cutting him off midsentence. She used the ear she held to steer him out of the house. But Lily constantly underestimated the sneakiness of the Marauders. Sirius tossed me something quickly before he was dragged away. The front door slammed and I grinned. As he hadn't come out right and actually told me aloud, which was likely what Lily had made him promise, he was safe from her wrath.

I frowned at the box he'd tossed. It was empty but that didn't really matter. I stared at the box my eyes widening. I dropped it then fell to my knees and far too over dramatically wailed at the ceiling "NOO!"

I knew all that hypothetical stuff had been a trap…

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Wanna know how to get people to alert to your stories? Do what I did! Add to your most successful story with promise of a sequel and the fans flock. Now all of you are stuck with _all_ my dodgy new stories not just this one! HAH HAH! I'm the greetest! Me with the big brain am winning again. But seriously I was blown away by how many author alerts I was put onto so thanks to all of you and well I hope you all enjoy, Penny


	2. Don't Tell

Hi friends, a quick thanks for the reviews to Kaladelia Undomiel, sareface, lmurph2529, kb1073, FaithfulHPReader and Smile-Pass it on. Also I had like dozens of people put this on their story alert and favourites and things. So a thanks to you as well and I'm loving all the pen names and things you guys have, IswareiwasJulietonceaponatime, that one really stood out which I love. Well I won't hold you up, here's the next chapter

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Chapter Two: Don't Tell

Lily

I walked beside Sirius while the slightly crisp early winter air stung at my cheeks. The ground was wet from recent rain and I sighed coming to a stop. Sirius stopped beside me and raised his eyebrows.

"I think I'm being paranoid" I said.

"No you're not" Sirius said.

"It's probably just stress. You know that sometimes stress can cause a woman's period to be a few days late"

"Ah Lily! No guy wants to hear about that ok,"

"Look I feel stupid kicking up a fuss. So I'm a week late, it's not important…"

"Lily we are going to the doctor, its better safe then sorry"

"Sirius, I promise next month if I don't get my period-" he groaned in disgust "that I'll get a proper test. The doctor will just say the same thing I'm telling you right now anyway"

"Well we'll find out won't we?" he said and I opened my mouth to protest but he just tossed me over his shoulder and carried me to the wizard doctor's office. I didn't even think they'd they would have wizarding doctors outside St Mungo's but they did. There were wizard doctors with their own little clinics just like the Muggle kind. Even the waiting rooms were the same. The magazines on the table, though of the wizarding variety with moving pictures, were outdated. The receptionist was bored out her mind fixing her nails with her wand only occasionally sparing a glance toward a large note book filling itself out.

Sirius quickly filled out a new patient form for me while we waited. I glanced around the waiting room. There was an ancient looking wizard who if he hadn't snorted moments ago I'd have thought died. A few seats away a woman sat ignoring a small three year old screaming in front of her. The child's mother sat on the opposite side of the room ignoring the screaming child gently rocking a pram. I glanced at Sirius who was working on fixing up a crossword in an old magazine.

"'3' isn't a word…" he muttered.

"Sirius" I said and he looked at me.

"Hmm?"

"How can you just sit there and ignore that?" I asked and indicated to the screaming three year old sitting on the floor opposite us.

"Years of long arduous practise ignoring McGonagall"

"Professor McGonagall doesn't sound like a screaming baby"

"Yeah maybe but the ignoring works pretty much the same" he said and I could only stare at him. "Lily it's not your kid it's not your problem"

"Yeah? And when it is all I'll want to do is smash his face"

"You won't be like that Lily"

"Won't I? I'm a pretty angry person; I have very low tolerance for… well nearly everything" I said

"Lily it'll be different because it'll be yours. It's always different when it's yours" he said.

"Sirius-"

"Lily Potter?" the doctor called. I stood up and before Sirius could protest I grabbed his arm and dragged him with me.

We followed the doctor down a narrow hallway and into his office with his name on a plaque on the door.

"All right, I'm Dr Brooks, take a seat" he said and Sirius and I sat down beside each other in front of the desk. Dr Brooks grabbed the chart Sirius' had been filling out for me and flipped through it idly. He then looked up and smiled.

"So Sirius, long time no see. How's your father?"

"He's dead"

"Ah yes, excellent, excellent" Brooks said. I felt my eyes widen and I glanced at Sirius in alarm. Sirius just gave me a charming grin before turning to the doctor.

"Here for Lily today doc. Thinks she might be pregnant" he said

"Another one? My, my Sirius we should really think about getting you a sign to tattoo on your face just so women are forewarned" Brooks muttered

"No, no she's my best friend's wife" Sirius said

"I know it's not my business but I thought that even you had some standards" Brooks said and I had to hide my smile.

"No he's the father" Sirius sighed

"I just didn't want to worry him before I was certain" I explained.

"Right, right of course" Brooks said and gave me a small smile. "So any reason you think you might be pregnant?"

"Oh, well I am a few days late…" I muttered

"Second child?"

"No it – it would be my first"

"Oh, well usually first time mothers don't even think of pregnancy when they're a few days late"

"So I'm being paranoid?"

"Yeah"

"Told you" I said to Sirius who stuck out his tongue.

"You've taken the at home tests I'm assuming?" Brooks asked

"Yeah, they were all inconclusive" I replied

"You haven't had any other kind of symptoms? Any vomiting, nausea or fatigue?"

"Uh… no"

"Ok well it's a simple test so…" Brooks waved his wand at my face and sparks shot out making me flinch. He then waved the wand and a piece of parchment appeared in front of him.

"Hmm… lick this" he said and held up an ice-lolly stick. I looked at Sirius who nodded so I took the stick from Brooks and licked it before handing it back. He pulled a small bowl filled with green liquid and dropped the parchment in it before stirring it with the stick I'd licked.

"You should have the results in three to five business days"

"Really? So soon?" I asked and Sirius clapped his hands together

"Brilliant, let's go" Sirius said

"But I-" Sirius ignored me once again and grabbed one of my hands pulling me into a standing position. Before I could say anything else he grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder.

"Thanks doc" Sirius said and I just groaned letting Sirius carry me out.

He took me home and I spent the rest of the day arguing with him about whether or not I should tell James.

"If you don't tell him I will"

"Oh thanks Sirius" I said and he glared at me.

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because it's – because – I don't know! I'm scared ok – I don't want anything to change"

"Lily!"

"Fine! Fine I'll tell him – after I get the results"

"No! No he should know its coming"

"Why?" I asked then frowned "you've already told him haven't you?"

"You know you never actually said I wasn't allowed to give him hints" Sirius said and I narrowed my eyes "and by that I mean no"

"All right I'll tell him the next time I see him" I said and Sirius nodded.

I went to bed that night only to be awoken a few hours later by Sirius.

"Oh good your awake" he said and I glared at him, "James is home"

I glanced at the clock and found it was a little before five in the morning.

"Thank you" I said to Sirius who grinned and walked off. I rolled over to sleep and a few moments later felt James flop onto the bed beside me.

"James don't sleep in your robes" I muttered tiredly. He sat up and flipped on the lamp.

"Did I wake you? I'm so sorry. Jeez I must have been really loud…" he said and I shook my head sitting up.

"No I was already awake…" I muttered flipping my plait over my shoulder. I untied it and began to unplait it then re-plait it idly.

"Did you want to talk?" James asked and I nodded. He smiled and watched me for a few moments before smiling, "Do you want me to go first?"

"Oh did you have something you wanted to talk about?" I asked

"No, but you weren't saying anything"

"I'm thinking!" I said and he nodded.

"Is this about the pregnancy test?" he asked and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"So Sirius told you?"

"Well he didn't tell me so much as throw a box at my head… I kind of pieced it together" he said and I nodded.

"I… don't know how to feel or how to react…"

"I'm having the exact same problem" he said and I smiled.

"I don't think we're ready I mean your certainly not with the way you reacted to the Granger kid"

"So that _was_ a test! Lily that's not fair you can't judge my reaction from that. Firstly because I'd only had three or so hours of sleep and am not accustomed to being woken by a baby. Secondly because that wasn't_ our_ baby. I'll be different with our baby, you know so long as he had my rugged good looks and your sexy brain not the other way round, because nobody likes a redheaded moron" he said and I laughed.

"So, you'd be ok if we were having a baby?" I asked

"I don't like where this is going…" he muttered and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I got the test today… yesterday – whatever so it's just a few days till we get the results" I said nervously. James just stared at me for a few moments before he let out a small squeak.

"James? Are you ok?" I asked

"So… you really you know… could be… pregnant?"

"Yes"

"Aren't you… aren't you taking something for it?"

"Yes… but sometimes I can miss a day and then… you know… things like this happen" I muttered awkwardly and he stared at me. "Don't give me that look if you'd kept your hands off me we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"So this is my fault?" James asked and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well you were trying to make it sound like it was my fault!"

"It's both your faults!" Sirius snapped. James and I frowned and looked around the room wondering where he was hiding.

"Sirius get out!" I snapped and he crawled out from under the bed.

"You should really clean under there" he said and James and I just pointed to the door. As soon as he shut the door behind him James turned to me.

"I'm sorry… it's not your fault" he said and I nodded

"It's yours" I said and he glared at me, "I'm sorry… it's not your fault either…"

"Yeah and it's probably another false alarm. We both get so worked up over nothing and that's what this is… nothing"

"Right" I agreed.

We both settled down for bed lost in our own worries and James turned to me.

"Hey… Lily seeing as-"

"No"

"But I'll-"

"No. Goodnight James" I said and heard him sigh.

* * *

James

My parents were coming over today. Lily had gone slightly insane trying to make everything perfect. I'd only gotten home a half hour ago and found Lily still sleeping. She screamed and kicked Sirius out of the house to go buy a pre-cooked chicken as there was no time for her to cook one herself. She'd then begun to clean everything methodically before running off to shower leaving me in charge of steaming the vegetables.

We hadn't talked about the pregnancy thing since the other night and I was perfectly all right with that. I was hoping the test results wouldn't come in today… my mother had this way of knowing exactly what I was thinking. I didn't really want her to know she was having a grandchild before it had fully sunk in for us.

I didn't even flinch when a loud screech interrupted my cooking. An owl swooped into the room through the window over the sink. It dropped a letter right into the steaming water where I was boiling some corn cobs. I quickly pulled it out burning my fingers in the process and turned to give the bird a right good glare but it had already flown away again.

_Please be my parents cancelling, please be my parents cancelling…_

I dried the letter as best as I could with my wand and opened it so that it wouldn't dry all folded up and be impossible to open. The ink was bleeding making it hard to read so I struggled for a few moments. When I did detect what the letter said I was stuck just staring at it.

"James" Sirius cried running into the kitchen carrying a paper wrapped chicken. He dropped it on the bench and rubbed his hands on his jeans. "I got it, where's the crazy?"

"Shower" I muttered not even looking at him.

"What are you reading? Your vegetables are on fire" Sirius said. I yelped and turned to look at them, they were fine. I shot him a look and he shrugged.

"Can you read that?" I asked and handed him the letter.

"What did you do drop it in water?" he asked frowning at it. I said nothing and watched him try to read, "Dear Mr… Putter? Well that's Potter obviously; I am breezed to give you… thus uninfected news – this unexpected news… um… something, something, configurations! Breeze fear me for a beck-up where we can discuss this father. I fish you the pest and hope you're swell. Severely, Dr Hooks? What?" Sirius asked and stared at me. "Who sent you that?"

I took the letter back off him and glared, "It's from Dr _Brooks _you moron and it says: Dear _Mrs_ Potter, I am_ pleased_ to give you this unexpected news. You're pregnant; it seems all your paranoia was justified. _Congratulations!_ _Please_ see me for a _check-up_ where we can discuss this_ further_. I _wish_ you the _best_ and hope you're _well_. _Sincerely_, Dr Brooks" I read correcting everywhere Sirius had stuffed up.

"Well you can't be reading that right otherwise Lily would be – oh" he stopped. I dropped the letter and grabbed him.

"Sirius!" I cried and then started to shake him hysterically "What am I going to do!"

"The first thing you're going to do is stop shaking me" he begged and I did so but kept a strong grip on the front of his shirt. "Next you're going to tell Lily"

"Lily…" I said starting to shake Sirius again "How am I going to tell her?"

"I'm going to throw up if you keep doing that!" Sirius snapped.

"Tell me what?" Lily asked. I turned to her dropping Sirius who cried out as he fell to the floor.

Lily looked up at the sound of Sirius' cry and frowned at him before looking at me slipping on a pair of shoes that matched her navy-knit dress.

"Lily – um… I just-" the door bell rang and Lily quickly flipped her hair over her shoulders.

"Crap they're early; I'll set the table you answer the door"

"Lily it's important"

"Tell me later!" she said and gave me a push toward the door.

I sighed and went to the door pulling it open to reveal my parents.

"James" mum cried and pulled me into a hug. Dad just gave a nod.

I stepped aside to let them into the house while mum fussed over my hair and clothes.

"-and James this house really is just so small. You've only got one bedroom, that's just not right" mum was saying as we all stepped into the kitchen.

"Mum" I sighed but she continued on, "And look you've got Sirius staying here with you. The couch is no place for a young man. He's not a dog James he needs a bed"

"It's all right Nina. I'm only here for another day. It's just because they were fumigating my flat building" Sirius said. Mum didn't look happy but didn't protest any more as she spotted Lily.

"Lily!" she squealed making Lily jump.

"Hi Mrs Potter"

"Lily, how many times do I have to tell you, it's Nina? How have you been? Let me look at you" mum said and took Lily's hands. "Oh, you are just glowing today dear"

"Thank you" Lily said shyly. "Um, just take a seat lunch should be ready in a few moments"

She scurried off to stand by the bench arranging the food perfectly onto plates and I led my parents over to the dining table.

"So, your house only has three rooms?" dad asked looking around.

"Wait… haven't you been over before?" I asked mum and dad shook their heads. "I could've sworn I – well there are four rooms actually, there's a doorway between the hall and this area" I said awkwardly. Before the conversation could continue I quickly showed my parents to their seats and sat at the head of the table beside my father. Lily would sit on my other side with Sirius and mum would sit beside my father.

"So, Nina, that is a lovely broach" Sirius said and mum smiled.

"Why thank you Sirius, it was a gift from Francis when he called me Annette in bed" mum said brightly. Dad and I groaned while mum smiled

"I thought it was cute but your father felt so ashamed" mum giggled cheerfully.

"Fantastic" I said while Sirius grinned.

We were saved from further embarrassment by Lily walking over holding two plates of food. She placed them in front of my parents and went off to collect more.

"This looks wonderful Lily" mum said as Lily returned with another two plates.

"Oh thank you" Lily said and walked off to get the last plate. She sat down and we began to eat our meal of roasted chicken and steamed vegetables.

"This is truly excellent chicken" mum said with a smile at Lily.

"Mines dry" dad muttered and mum shot him a look.

"Do you have any wine?" mum asked me sweetly. I stood up to find some and returned to the table. Mum uncorked it and poured some into a glass thrusting it at dad.

"So, how's work?" mum asked me.

"You know… worky" I muttered.

"And how about you Sirius? What are you doing?"

"Wasting my inheritance"

"No job?" mum pressed

"No not really – I sometimes wait tables… but that's… pretty much it" he said.

"Lily?" mum asked hopefully.

"Oh no… um… house wifey things…" Lily said awkwardly. "Can someone pour me some wine please?"

Dad poured her a glass and handed it to her but Sirius quickly took it and threw the wine out over his shoulder. He handed Lily the now empty glass before noticing everyone staring at him.

"Oops" he said and Lily gave an awkward smile before handing her glass back to dad who poured another glass. Sirius did the same thing and Lily sighed

"I'll just go get some water, James?" Lily said standing up. I excused myself from the table noticing Sirius' panicked glance as I followed Lily to the sink.

"What is wrong with Sirius?" she hissed

"So many things…" I sighed and she slapped my arm.

"Really, what is going on?"

"Ok… I don't have time to beat around the bush so I'm just going to come right out and say it – Sirius was dropped on his head as a baby"

"What?" Lily snapped then shook her head and went to head back to the table. I grabbed her arm but Sirius shook his head violently. I debated briefly and decided to ignore Sirius. I knew telling Lily would affectively mean telling my parents – the girl has the worst poker face – but she had to know.

Nope I couldn't do it. I let her go and she headed back over to the table muttering about idiots.

"Everything all right?" mum asked as Lily sat back down.

"Yes I'm sure you know how tiring being married to an idiot can be" she said and Sirius choked on his food.

"I do indeed dear" mum said sweetly and I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing. Dad wasn't paying the least bit of attention so the fact he'd been insulted just went right over him.

I headed back to the table and sat down only wincing slightly at the swift kick Lily gave me.

It was awkward but not horribly so. Then soon they were leaving, they were almost out the door when –

"Lily's pregnant" Sirius blurted. I could have killed the bastard. I whirled around to glare at him and he had his hands clamped over his mouth.

"What?" Lily asked her voice sounding so small. She glanced between the two of us before turning to my parents looking so confused like someone had told her there was no such thing as magic.

"I…" she shook her head not knowing who she was talking to and simply fell silent staring at the ground.

My parents were stopped on the threshold – see how close! - glancing between Lily, Sirius and I.

"What?" mum asked and Sirius shook his head. If he repeated himself I'd kill him. I gave him a look to tell him exactly that and he kept his hands over his mouth.

"I'm having a grandchild?" mum asked putting a hand over her heart. She looked like she would cry and I was so hoping she wouldn't.

"No" Sirius and I said together.

"Yes – oh Lily" mum said

"Wait, what's happening?" Lily asked staring at me but mum pulled her into a hug.

"Wait whose having a baby?" Lily demanded pulling away from mum.

"You don't know?" mum asked then whacked my arm. "How can she not know if you two do?"

"We read the letter" Sirius said

"Sirius! What have I told you about talking?" I snapped.

"It gets me in trouble?"

"Yes! So shut it"

"What letter?" Lily asked. I sighed and reluctantly handed it to her. She frowned at it and then screwed up her eyes trying to read it.

"I'm pregnant?" she asked I nodded slowly, unsure if she wanted to scream at me or castrate me.

"I can't believe you let her find out this way…" mum muttered sadly. I glanced at dad who still hadn't said a word. He was watching Lily; I turned back to my wife who was taking deep breaths. She began to wave her hands then screamed and jumped up and down a few times before leaping onto me. I caught her deftly but not quickly enough and we both crashed into a wall.

"Ow" I muttered and Lily climbed off me standing up. She squealed and leapt onto Sirius who went crashing down as well. I stood up dusting myself off and looked over to my parents. Dad was frowning only slightly and mum was beaming.

"Oh I am just so proud of you" mum said and pinched my cheek. "Both of you" she said and gave Lily a warm smile. She was still on the floor with Sirius.

"We'll leave you to celebrate, Lily I'll owl you in a few days with details" mum said

"Wait what details?" Lily asked looking up. I took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Mum beamed at her

"Well there's so much to organise isn't there? You'll definitely need a new house much, much bigger then this. Then there are names to think of – and godparents and schools. Will you try and raise him the Muggle way just in case the poor child takes after your parents?"

"Um…" Lily said and glanced at me worriedly.

"Oh a grandchild I can't believe it, oh Francis isn't it wonderful?" mum asked.

"Yeah," dad agreed before adding in a whisper just so I could hear, "nice job moron"

"This is just… really unexpected… I um… need a few days… weeks to process this" Lily said

"Oh of course, we'll leave you to it oh and there's a fantastic Preparing for Parenthood class at St Mungo's for first time parents. I'll sign you up" mum said sweetly and then pulled dad out the front door and they were gone.

"Yay" Lily cheered unenthusiastically. She turned to me and frowned.

"How could you let me find out like that?" she asked.

"I'd meant to tell you when we were alone" I said with a pointed glare to Sirius.

"If it's any consolation you reacted better then James did" Sirius said

"What? How did you react?" Lily asked frowning at me.

"Oh you know I was happy"

"He was shaking me practically hysterical"

"Oh great James! Just great we're having a baby and you can't even be happy about it! This is just what I need! I mean today of all days, your parents drive me nuts and I found out I'm having a baby. I cannot deal with your immaturity God!" Lily cried and stormed off to the bedroom tears in her eyes.

"Damn it Sirius what did I say about talking?" I snapped. He just gave me a small shrug and I sighed leaning against the wall.

"Sirius?"

"Mm"

"Tell me I'm not going to fuck this up"

"You won't"

"Really?"

"Of course you will. Your James Potter you fuck up everything!"

"Thank you Sirius" I said dryly.

"It's what I do" he said.

A second later Lily stormed out of the bedroom and walked back up to me, "I'm sorry I'm tired and stressed" she kissed me softly, "I'm going to nap lets talk tomorrow after we've both calmed down. Oh and Sirius?" Sirius nodded and Lily kicked him in the shin.

"What did James tell you about talking?" she snapped and I smiled as she stormed back off to the bedroom. I folded my arms over my chest and smirked as Sirius rubbed his leg.

"Ah Sirius words cannot express my love for that woman" I said sighing wistfully.

"Sweet Merlin I hope that kid doesn't get her temper. My knees won't take it"

* * *

OH the end was crap. But I re-wrote it all quite literally four times and no end was better then this. So it's short, I know I'm sorry but I don't care. I just wanted it finished for you so I could get on with the story. Whatever, it's quarter past four in the morning and I am going to bed. Goodnight, don't forget to review, Penny


	3. Your Friends Or Mine?

- Ah I'm so sorry guys, I meant to update sooner and I had a chapter planned but I decided I needed a filler chapter. Filler chapters are so hard to write which is why this took so long, I'll stop rambling. Quick thanks to my reviewers, SkyeSociopath, adrian's. little dhampire, Kaladelia Undomiel, kb1073, sareface, Smile-Pass it on and lmurph2592. Plus a very nice thank you to everyone who favourited and whatever, off we go.

* * *

Chapter Three: Your Friends Or Mine?

Lily

I sat next to James in bed reading a shopping catalogue. James was kissing my neck but I ignored him and flipped a page in my catalogue. He sighed and pulled away from me.

"Lily…" he said

"Mm?"

"Can you try and act enthused? You said we could do it. If you don't want to just say no"

"Sorry? What?"

"Lily, this is the first night in forever I've been home to go to bed at the same time as you" he said.

"Yeah… I know, but its Christmas next week and I still don't have a present for your parents"

"Oh now I see… your mad because I can't go to the ball with you"

"James, firstly it's _your_ families traditional Christmas Eve Ball, how can you not go? And secondly I'm not mad" I said.

"Really because it seems like you are"

"Just because I won't have sex with you doesn't mean I'm mad" I said simply. He flopped down beside me and I continued to flip through my catalogue.

"I can't believe you're mad about this. Lily I have to work and I'm getting Sirius to go with you it'd be just like going with me"

"No James it wouldn't. How can you be working over Christmas? And I'm not mad"

"You are mad, and Voldemort isn't going to take a week off just because everyone else is. In fact I think he's more likely to do something on Christmas for that sole reason"

"James I understand that your job is a full time one and that you can't always make it to things but your father is the Minister for Magic I think he can give you a day off to for Christmas"

"Sirius will be with you"

"Sirius isn't you"

"He's as good as"

"That's wonderful James… but if you'd told me that marrying you meant marrying him too you'd be very happy together without me"

"That's not how I meant it… it's just your making a big deal out of being alone when you won't really be alone"

"The fact you think your best friend is the same as having you there is exactly why I'm not having sex with you" I said and put my catalogue down to glare at him.

"Hah! I knew you were mad!"

"Yes James I'm mad! We haven't spent a Christmas apart in all the years we've known each other. Every year at Hogwarts your parents would make you come home for that Christmas Eve Ball but you'd always be right back for Christmas day!"

"Remember the year it was just us left in Gryffindor tower? You slept on the couch in the common room just so I could wake you up on Christmas morning…" he said

"Yes… you kissed me for the first time" I said and he grinned

"Well you know… mistletoe, you gotta obey the rules" he said.

"Don't leave me alone for Christmas" I said

"I'll try"

"No I want you to promise"

"Lily…"

"If there's an emergency and you have to go that's fine but I want you to be there"

'Ok… I promise"

"Thank you" I said and turned back to the catalogue. "Now do you think your parents would like a teapot?"

"Who cares? Your giving them a grandchild I think they're quite happy with that"

"Well I'm going shopping tomorrow with Hannah and Bec and I just want to know what I'm getting because the shops will be crowded" I muttered.

I squealed in surprise when James suddenly grabbed me around the waist and rolled us over till I was underneath him.

"Do your friends know?" he asked. I didn't have to ask what he was talking about.

"No, but I'm not showing yet"

"Except your boobs" he said and I smiled. "You should tell them"

"Because it went so well when we told yours…" I muttered.

It had only been a few days ago we'd told James' friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Sirius had come for moral support or to blab it out if James and I got too chicken.

James had been nervous, about as nervous as I was at the thought of my friends finding out. I'd been chopping vegetables for the dinner I was making for everyone when I caught him sneaking away.

"Whoa where are you going?" I asked.

"Out?" he said carefully.

"With who? All your friends are coming here" I said frowning at him.

"That's why I'm going" he replied with a grin and went to walk away.

"James!" I snapped and he turned back to me.

"Lily, you know how my friends are going to react. Peter is going to laugh and Remus will start hitting me"

"Why would he hit you?" I asked.

"Because you had so much potential and I ruined it by knocking you up"

"Aw Remus is so sweet" I said and he raised his eyebrows. "You're not going anywhere… we agreed that telling them all together was the best thing"

"Why don't you have to tell your friends?" he whined and I raised my eyebrows.

"I'll tell them later…" I said simply. "Besides Sirius is blocking the door so you can't escape anyway" he sighed in defeat.

I watched him for a moment before looking back down at my vegetables. I held up the cutting board and used the knife I'd been chopping with to push them into a pot of boiling water. I heard James try to make a run for it and quickly threw the knife. It hit the wall in front of him and he stopped. He stared at me in alarm and I picked up my wand.

"James…" I said sweetly. He nodded slowly, "You know how I'm a little crazy right?"

"Yes"

"Well pregnancy makes me even more so. I've been puking nearly every fifteen minutes and the only thing I can keep down is ice lollies and they do not give me the nice and full feeling I desperately crave. So I wouldn't test me right now because there are plenty more sharp knives in this kitchen and I promise you next time I won't miss" I said. He slowly turned with his arms raised in surrender.

"They're your friends James why are you so scared?" I asked

"I don't know I just…" he sighed "I don't know…"

"You boys are so close you really think them finding out I'm pregnant is going to affect them?"

"I don't know…" he sighed and I smiled.

"James they love you – they're going to be just as excited as you are" I said.

"Lils…we've never really talked about what this means"

"And you want to do it now, a half hour before your friends are supposed to get here?" I asked

"Lily… I have to be honest. I'm not excited. Not at all. Don't get me wrong – I love you and I'm going to do everything I can for that baby but I'm not ready"

"You think I am? James… God… I am fucking terrified right now" I said

"Really? Oh me too" he said sounding relieved.

"We're not ready for this" I said

"We're going to be horrible"

"I know!" I said and started to laugh. He smiled and came over pulling me into a hug.

"I'm going to have to tie you to a chair till your friends get here aren't I?" I asked and pulled away from him with a small smile.

"It'd help and hopefully cure this running away feeling I'm getting just thinking about it"

I kissed him softly and returned to my cooking. A half hour later the table was set and I sat beside James with a small encouraging smile.

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew sat opposite us both wearing polite smiles. The table was silent and it was kind of awkward which was unusual. The Marauders, as they'd nicknamed themselves at school, were always loud with at least one of them having something to say.

"It's nice lamb…" Sirius commented breaking the silence. I smiled at him sitting beside me then looked back over to Remus and Peter who exchanged a glance.

"Mm… you're a great cook Lily" Peter agreed.

"Well thank you" I said quietly and there was more silence.

"Ok" Remus said putting down his cutlery. "This is too weird. Obviously there's something going on because never in all the years I've known either of you have you shut up for more then ten minutes" he glanced between James and Sirius.

"Well-" Sirius started but I kicked him under the table and so he fell silent looking down at his food.

"I'm just going to take a wild guess and say it has something to do with James being tied to a chair" Remus said and James fidgeted slightly in his bonds.

"He's just afraid of how you'll react is all…" I said and James nodded.

"Why? What did you do? Find a cure for lycanthropy?" Remus asked dryly, he then frowned, "You didn't did you?"

"Uh… well no but I will let you know if I ever start working on that…" James said. "I heard there was a guy that's come pretty close though"

"Oh there's always someone who comes pretty close. I'm sorry but I can't deal with 'pretty close' I think he's just being lazy" Remus said. I clapped my hands to get their attention.

"Boys! Focus! Remus was right there is something James and I wanted to tell you" I said and looked at James pointedly.

"You've decided to leave him for his shy but loyal friend?" Peter asked. I looked over at him and smiled while James frowned. I glanced at James pointedly and he simply stared back at him so I took a deep breath.

"Um… ok… I'm pregnant" I said. The table went deathly quiet like no one was even breathing. Then -

"Oh Sirius this is low… even for you" Remus said

"It's James' you moron!" Sirius said.

"Why would she have James' baby?" Peter asked

"Cause she's my wife" James said

"I can't believe you'd accuse Lily of that" Sirius said and Remus started to stutter an apology to me. "N-no, no, I-I didn't mean it like that" Remus said.

James just sighed from beside me and I started to laugh. I couldn't help it… I hadn't been expecting those reactions at all.

"I-I'm sorry… can I do that again?" Remus asked and I smiled at him.

"I'm insulted that you think I'd do that" Sirius said

"Oh please Sirius, it's a little late to try and convince me you have standards… we all met your ex girlfriend" Remus said

"Which one?" Sirius asked frowning.

"The one you were with last week at the Leaky Cauldron"

"That was a guy"

"See what I mean" Remus said and then turned to me, "what I meant to say was congratulations"

"Do you really mean that?" I asked

"Of course I do"

"Can you say it without the frown and maybe try looking happy?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Lily my face is not expressive enough for that" he said and I laughed.

"Well thank you for trying" I said and then turned to Peter who was frowning.

"That would mean that you had to touch_ it_ right?" he asked and James and Sirius sniggered on either side of me.

"Uh… I… well I mean I did but…" I trailed off awkwardly.

"She even put it in her mouth once" James said and I slapped him across the back of the head while everyone else groaned.

"The important thing is how you two feel about this…" Remus said.

"Good"

"Really good yeah…"

"Guys" Remus sighed

"So scared"

"You have to help us"

"Why would you think I would know anything about that? I'm a virgin" Remus said and Sirius snorted.

"Remus please" Sirius said

"That doesn't count we spooned I didn't actually have sex with you"

"There was sex"

"That was not sex"

They continued to argue and I turned to James smiling brightly, "See everything went just fine"

"Yeah…" he replied. Then Remus and Sirius' fight escalated to one of them flipping the table and running off out the back door while the other followed.

"Well that wasn't so much to do with finding out you're pregnant as it was with them being morons" James said "I think your friends will be happy for you"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell them later…" I muttered and he frowned at me.

"Lily…"

"James…" I mocked.

"Aw you're so sexy when you're mocking me" he said and kissed me softly. The soft kiss soon escalated and he moved from my lips down my neck drawing gasps with every bite while his hands moved expertly over my hips.

There was a soft tapping sound and I sat up a little. James was never one to be deterred from a task ignored it and continue to lick and bite at my collar bone.

"Is that the mirror?" I asked before gasping as James bit just the right spot.

"If it is I'll kill Sirius" he mumbled into my skin.

"Can you check please?" I asked as the tapping grew louder.

James groaned and wrapped an arm around my waist. He rolled us over so I was on top and we were closer to the edge of the bed. He kept a tight hold on me as he rummaged through the bedside drawers. I kissed his neck lightly while he searched. He held up the two-way mirror and frowned at his reflection. Sirius had the other of the pair and they could communicate to one another with them.

"Not Sirius" he said and I frowned.

"What else could it be?" I asked.

"An owl on the window?" he guessed and I glanced over at the window. The owl that had been trying to get our attention looked positively delighted now we'd noticed it.

I climbed off the bed and went over to the window to let the owl in. it soared over to James and dropped a letter in his lap before flying back off out the window. I watched it till it disappeared into the sky then closed the window. I turned back to James who was reading the letter quickly. He got up and started to get dressed.

"Work?" I guessed and he nodded.

"Sorry" he said and I shook my head.

"Don't be…" I said making him smiled. He stepped over to kiss me but I held up my hand to stop him.

"I think… yep" I said and quickly ran off to the bathroom. I just made it to the sink in time to vomit. James followed me into the bathroom and started to rub my back soothingly.

"Oh well your morning sickness would have interrupted us if work hadn't" he said and I just groaned.

"I gotta go. You be careful shopping tomorrow, remember what I told you?" he asked and I simply vomited again. "That's my girl, love you"

I just groaned and he ran off to work.

I went to bed feeling sick and woke up pretty much feeling the same. I had a shower and tried some breakfast. I couldn't keep down anything but crackers and ice lollies so that would be my breakfast. Bad I know but a few months down the line I'd be eating everything in the cupboard without even getting nauseous

"Oh that's naughty Lily-flower"

I jumped and turned to find James' three friends standing behind me. I pulled out my wand and aimed it at Sirius.

James was becoming a little paranoid with the dark times going on around us and had been making sure I knew how to protect myself. People who appeared in the kitchen got questioned then blasted with wrong answers.

"Oh come on, it's really us" Sirius said

"Well if you are really James' friends you can tell him that I checked like a good girl" I said not lowering my wand.

"Ok you want us to prove we're really us? Ask us a question. Like our first kiss, you'd know that wouldn't you Lily?"

"I only know Remus'" I muttered

"Moony" Sirius said turning to Remus Lupin who frowned at him miserably. "Tell her or she'll hex us"

Remus sighed and mumbled something,

"Didn't catch that Lupin" Sirius said

"Sirius Black in a game of spin the bottle" Remus sighed and Sirius smirked arrogantly.

"Sorry, Remus but James would kill me if I didn't check everyone" I said and put my wand away.

"For future reference who was your first kiss?" Remus asked

"You already know" I said

"I think I need to be reminded" he said

"Serverus Snape when I was nine!" I said and Peter Pettigrew and Sirius both pulled a face.

"Mine was a girl name Gina down by the river when I was ten just in case you wanted to know" Sirius said

"We didn't" Peter said

"Have you kissed a girl yet Wormtail?" Sirius asked

"Yes, I've had several girlfriends, two of whom you stole from me"

"Oh… yeah… right… I'm not a very good friend am I?"

"No" Peter and Remus said together.

"Any reason you guys felt the need to stop by? Other then the obvious reason of James wanted you to check up on me"

"We wanted to see you" Sirius said sweetly.

"James doesn't want me going to Diagon Alley with just girls does he?"

"Yep" Peter said

"Like I can't defend myself I'm way better then him with that kind of stuff" I said

"Yeah but Lily… you're pregnant… it kind of adds to James' paranoia" Sirius said.

"So you'll be coming shopping with us?" I asked and they all nodded. "Fantastic, I do have a few rules though so can you please try and obey them?"

"We'll _try_" Sirius said

"Number one, Hannah and Bec don't know I'm pregnant, I want to keep it that way"

"Why?" Peter asked

"Because Hannah is a crazy girl who'll take the news the wrong way and go to rip James' dick off" Sirius said.

"Rule number two," I continued "we did think this was going to be a girls day so there will be girly topics of discussion and girly shops we'll be visiting. Rule number three if James ever tries to pull something like this again_ I'll_ rip his dick off. Understood?"

"Got it Lily" Sirius said with a mocking salute.

"Good" I said and turned back to my crackers.

"Lily, you need to eat real food, it's not good for the baby" Sirius said and I gave him a dark look.

"I can't eat anything else Sirius or I'll vomit everywhere" I said.

The doorbell rang and I headed off to answer it. My two best friends from Hogwarts both smiled brightly at me. Hannah Yardley a tall girl with curly black hair and Bec Danewent, a blonde who always appeared surprised by everything.

"Lily!" they both squealed and pulled me into a hug.

"You ready to go?" Hannah asked,

"Yeah, I just gotta grab my coat" I said and grabbed it from the hook hanging by the door.

The snow had come quickly and quietly seemingly over night. I'd always liked the snow, it just fascinated me. I pulled a hat over my red hair and wrapped a scarf around myself before stepping out into the cold crisp air.

"Uh… Lils… something you forgot to tell us?" Bec asked.

"Hmm?" I asked. She pointed and I turned to find the Marauders standing there all smiling politely.

"Why are they here?" Hannah asked.

"James is being paranoid" I said

"Yeah, because You-Know-Who is really going to attack Diagon Alley, how dare we try and buy things? We must be destroyed" Bec said.

"Yes shopping is evil" Sirius said.

"Black if you're going to be our security do it like the professionals and don't talk" Hannah said and I smiled.

We headed off to Diagon Alley fighting through the pre-Christmas crowd to browse for shopping ideas. For nearly two hours we'd been looking for things to buy, currently we were staring at teapots.

"Who are you getting the teapot for?" I asked Hannah.

"No one. I just wanted to annoy the guys" she said and I sniggered. The guys were all standing in the corner looking like they wanted to kill someone… I was going to guess James.

"Are you ladies almost done? I mean how long does it take to pick a teapot? They can all hold tea can't they?" Sirius whined.

"Sirius, you have to pick the right kind of tea pot. For instance, I can't get my mother this tea pot because it's got a horse on it and she's deathly afraid of them. It takes time" Bec said and Sirius groaned. Bec gave me and Hannah an evil grin and I had to hide my smile.

"Come on" Sirius whined and I stepped over to stand with them.

"I have to puke"

"I told you not to have the fries" Sirius said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah those fries were gross" Peter said

"They were fine it's because she's pregnant" Remus said.

There was a loud crash to the right. We all turned to find Hannah and Bec staring at us wide eyed. A broken teapot lay at their feet.

"What?" Hannah asked.

"HEY!"

"Oh sorry" Bec said and flicked her wand and the teapot was fixed. She picked it up and put it on the shelf taking a step away.

"What?" Hannah repeated.

I turned to glare at Remus who gave me a small nervous smile.

"Its way more fun when I'm not the one fucking up…" Sirius said.

* * *

James

I hated agility tests. I was good at them; all those years Lily believed I'd 'wasted' on Quidditch had actually turned out beneficial.

This was what I'd been called in for. Relentlessly repetitive new training exercises. Good thing about being called in at quarter to midnight, I got to go home at the three in the afternoon which was just fantastic.

Right now I was standing with the rest of the Auror Cadets waiting for their turn. One at a time so everyone else could figure out what not to do. Right now Kim was making her way through the course jumping over fallen trees while Moody followed. He was flinging different coloured lights at her to imitate real spells. If you got hit with the bright green one you 'died'. Kim had only been hit with a red one so far which was a stunning charm and it had apparently been a real one as she was a lot slower then when she'd started. She was splattered with mud having had to crawl through several feet of it after missing the first few rocks that would allow you to scale the wall beside it. Ordinarily in these tests we would have to fight back but Moody was testing us on how well we could do without a wand.

My classmates and I watched horrified as Kim ran as fast as she could while Moody exploded objects near her. She screamed a bit as all the girls and some of the guys did. She tripped and fell into a roll trying to pick herself back up but she wasn't quick enough. She rolled over and faced Moody her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. He walked over to her and she glared then kicked his wand out of his hand. He looked surprised which was good, she took the opportunity to roll over and get back onto her feet again. Moody found his wand and began to pursue her once more.

She stopped at a large gap knowing she wouldn't be able to leap across it. A rope hung immobile in the middle and she leapt for it but missed falling into the muddy water below. When she emerged Moody hit her with a green light and she winced.

"You're dead…" he said. She sighed and climbed out of the water.

I was next up and sighed taking my place at the start. Moody walked calmly over to me, "You get a ten second head start. Ready Potter?"

I nodded and a whistle blew. I took off at a sprint, I know you're supposed to pace yourself but I could do that later. I ran through the rugged terrane cursing its uneven ground. I ran up to the wall Kim had missed and made my way past swiftly. I did have a little trouble scaling a smooth wall but managed to get over. I fell off the other side and scrambled up taking off once more. I leapt over fallen trees and even slid under one when I didn't have time to jump. I winced when a blue light hit me and took cover behind a tree as my arm started to burn.

"Come on Potter you only have twenty minutes to complete the course" Moody growled from somewhere in the distance. That damn magical eye of his could see through solid objects so of course he knew exactly where I was.

I sighed and took off once more trying to zig-zag behind different things so I wasn't too easy to hit. Moody who could simply blast through the objects I had to make my way across was gaining on me. He blew up a tree stump on my right and I had to dodge out of the way. He grew more frequent with blowing up things and it's really unnerving to have things blow up right under your feet. I was thrown forward by one of these blasts and pulled myself up as best I could before taking off once more.

I came to where Kim had failed and didn't stop; I just ran and leapt onto the rope. I didn't want to try swinging back to gain more momentum so simply went straight over to the other side. I made it across and continued to run. I'd made it the furthest then anyone else so I had no idea what was coming and that's how I wound up tripping into a ditch. Moody hit me before I had any chance to try anything like Kim had. The green light hit me and it felt like getting hit with a beaters bat. I rolled over and stood up, Moody handed me my wand so I could fix my glasses. I couldn't remember when I'd broken them.

"You made it the furthest" Moody said and I shook my head.

"I didn't make it to the end" I said and he gave me a lopsided smile.

"Exactly, and that's what will push you harder next time. You can head home" he said I nodded and walked over to the side of the training course making my way toward the exit. A whistle sounded and another Cadet started, there was a scream as whoever it was tripped into the very first obstacle.

I headed through the Ministry of Magic only cleaning myself off enough to make sure I wouldn't track mud and dirt everywhere. It was the middle of the afternoon but I wasn't particularly worried about being seen covered in mud. I headed into my office and grabbed my things before making my way home eager for a long shower and some salve for the burn on my arm.

I walked up the garden path and into my house. When I walked into the living room I found my three friends all sitting on the couch. Remus looked rather guilty while Peter and Sirius looked amused. Lily was sitting at the kitchen table in between her two friends Hannah and Bec.

"How was shopping?" I asked kindly.

"Fine, apart from you unexpectedly throwing your friends at me as body guards… a little warning next time would be nice. Oh and there was also the small issue of your friends not knowing how to keep their mouths shut Remus" Lily said.

"What did you do?" I asked Remus. Remus was always the responsible one of my friends I found it hard to believe he was the one who'd done something wrong.

"He did what Sirius did to your parents to my friends" Lily said.

"Oh Remus…" I said and shook my head sadly.

"Fun time is over Potter!" Hannah snapped standing up straight. "You're going to sit here and listen to exactly what you've done to Lily here"

I sat down to where she pointed beside Lily and then listened. Hannah then began to explain in very graphic detail exactly what would happen to Lily now she was pregnant.

"-And then in an attempt to squeeze the baby out of her small vagina she'll probably poo" Hannah said. I glanced at Lily who had her hands over her face.

"She's going to poo?" I asked

"Yeah! In front of complete strangers all staring intently at her vagina, which has an eighty percent chance of tearing" Hannah said. I looked over at my friends; Peter was looking disgusted, probably from Hannah's awfully graphic explanation of intercourse, pregnancy and now the birth. Sirius was smirking arrogantly and Remus looked uncomfortable. Lily's friend Bec Danewent was standing beside Hannah giving me a right good glare.

"Birth is like those snakes, you know when they eat an antelope and you think it can't possibly do that then it unhinges its jaw and swallows it whole. It's like that but in reverse" Hannah said.

Lily groaned and I whimpered

"Hannah, I think he gets it… if you go on Peter's going to vomit" Sirius said. Hannah glanced over at him

"Good, then maybe he'll remember to always use protection. You men think it's all up to the women but you've got equal responsibility" Hannah said turning back to me. To be honest with you she scared me a bit. Not as much as Lily when she was mad, but still enough for me to keep my mouth shut.

"Hannah I wanted the baby" Lily said. Everyone in the room looked at her in surprise including me. Neither of us had wanted to have kids for a few more years so I was startled by this statement.

"What?" Bec asked breaking the silence.

"The reason I haven't figured out what to do with my life is because I wasn't doing it… I'm supposed to be a mother, I know it I can feel it with every fibre of my being" Lily said. Hannah and Bec began a hushed conversation and I leant over to Lily.

"Really?" I asked

"Shush" she replied. Her two friends turned and both put their hands on their hips frowning at Lily.

"Having a kid means you won't ever get to go to uni… not till the kids at school at least" Hannah said.

"Yes, Hannah I know I did think about it" Lily said. Her two friends were silent for a few moments.

"Well in that case I guess congratulations are in order" Bec said and held out her arms. Lily smiled and stood up to hug her friend. The three girls immediately began chatting and I took advantage of the distraction to hurry over to my friends.

"This is good, now everyone knows" I said with a sigh of relief.

"Except her family" Remus said

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that…" I said simply.

"James-"

"Didn't hear you!" I snapped.

* * *

Ah yes filler chapters. I'm so sorry guys, the next chapter is nearly done – expect excitement. This one I've been writing all out of order, like I've almost got most of the ending – sob, sob, sob – and all that so I'm taking forever to come up with these filler chapters. It doesn't make much sense because it's got bits and pieces from other chapters I've scrapped. I was determined to get it done before the weekend though and I did so here it is. I'm having my birthday party this weekend and I knew I wouldn't get a chance to write at all but I really wanted it done. The next chapter should be up soon I'm hoping to get it up by my actual birthday which is this Tuesday so we'll see how we do. It'll be my birthday present to you guys if I can get it done I'll be so stoked so wish me luck. I'm going to bed now it's ten to four and I need to recharge, night all, don't forget to leave a review to tell me how much you loathe filler chapters, Penny


	4. The Christmas Eve Ball

Yeah I didn't really make that Tuesday thing did I? Ah well! I'm officially eighteen now whoo can go to clubs, haven't been yet but meh whatever… I did get a tattoo with my sister; they match because we're awesome like that. She is my everything! Anyway, I'm sure none of you really care and have glossed over this but thanks to my reviewers kb1073 and Kaladelia Undomiel. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Four: The Christmas Eve Ball

James

I stood leaning against the bathroom door.

"You said you weren't mad!" I said

"I'm not mad" Lily called through the door.

"Then open the door" I said.

"No!"

"Lily! I have to go to work"

"Fine, go" she said and I sighed banging my head against the door. It was Christmas Eve, the night of my family's stupid ball. Every member of the Potter clan would be in attendance, except me. I'm pretty sure Lily was pissed but I had to work and my dad was like my bosses boss so I couldn't sneak off or take a sick day.

"Sirius will be here in a half hour ok?" I said

"We don't have to be there till seven why is he coming now?"

"Naturally leaving everything to the last second he wants to go Christmas shopping"

"We went the other day!" she snapped.

"Yes… but remember it's not his fault he's stupid, it's from years of neglect by his family and being dropped on his head a couple dozen times…"

"Fine whatever"

"You sound mad; I don't want to leave you mad"

"James I'm throwing up!"

"Oh, ok"

"Yeah, so just go!"

"Fine, all right, fine… I'm going…" I said

"Bye!" she said. I sighed and left.

I headed into work passing all the miserable people stuck here for Christmas. Only a few of them looked happy to be there, the few single people starved for human contact and the older employees who hated their families.

I walked into the Auror department and stopped. The cubicles usually filled with bustling important Auror's were all bare. Even during the graveyard shift there were a few Aurors walking around. I walked through toward Moody's office and found my fellow trainees all cramped inside.

"Evening all" I said and a few people nodded back. I headed across the room to stand beside Kim who gave me a small smile.

"Thanks for showing up – late" Moody growled at me.

"Sorry the wife wanted a word" I said awkwardly.

"Now that everyone's here" Moody began, he paused to glare at me "We can start. You may have noticed on your way in that no one else is here. That's wrong! I've got two qualified Aurors watching the alerts in case of an attack. CONSTANT VIGILANCE" he shouted making everyone jump. "Other then those two there are no other fully trained Aurors aside from myself working tonight. This means if they're out we have to handle whatever happens, we're their backup"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jason Collins asked nervously.

"Well how else are you going to learn?" Moody shot back "It's no good me telling you, you have to experience it for yourself"

"Yeah but shouldn't we partner with a trained Auror? I mean sending two rookies out together is like suicide"

"You'll be fine you've been training over two years without going into the field, you need to, especially now" Moody said

"Speaking of that, what if You-Know-Who attacks?" Eileen McKinnon asked.

"Who?" Moody asked

"You know" she said pointedly.

"No I don't you'll have to say his name" Moody said and Eileen took a deep breath.

"What if… Voldemort… attacks?" she whispered his name but it didn't stop the shiver going around the room.

"Then we fight"

"By ourselves?"

"Well I'll call more people in but to start off with yes you'll be by yourselves"

"I picked the worst fucking time to become an Auror" Collins sighed.

"Yeah you did" Moody said, "Now as its quiet we'll take the opportunity to work on your stealth, everyone pair up and try and get this candy cane from me by the end of the night"

"Are you serious?" Maxine Cooks asked

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Moody replied

"It's just an ordinary candy cane" Eileen said.

"Yep"

"Ok… and you just want us to steal it?"

"Without me getting you with a single spell" Moody said

"Well that's not fair sir you can see out of the back of your head" I said and everyone frowned.

A fight a few years ago had lost Moody his eye and he'd replaced with a large electric blue one that could see through things.

"Really?"

"I knew that eye was too freaky to be just for seeing straight"

"Does that mean he can see my underwear?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Collins asked holding up some fingers behind his back.

"Four, and yes I can see out of the back of my head, which is why you've gotta be quick, doesn't matter if I see you if I can't hit you. Now pair off" Moody said and waited for a few seconds while everyone grabbed a partner. "Everyone paired? All right, now I'll be all over this department, but this department only. Oh and as some motivation the winner gets to eat the candy cane" he then disappeared with a loud _crack_.

We all headed out of the office to find the main room now dimly lit by a few candles only. I glanced around wearily and then pulled Kim off to the side.

"A candy cane is a crap prize" I muttered sulkily and Kim smiled.

"Trust you to think of the prize. I'm going to go ahead and just value not being hit by one of Moody's spells as a prize. My shoulder still hurts from agility training" she said and then squealed in surprised and fell over stiff as a board in a body bind hex.

"Constant vigilance!" Moody shouted from somewhere off to the right. I quickly did the counter curse and helped Kim stand up.

"Crap, he's going to be attacking us too?" she asked and I pulled her out of the way of a curse that went flying by.

"Was that him or one of us?"

"One of us, I last heard him over that way…" I said and pointed in the direction the spell had been heading.

"We should probably get out of the line of fire and then come up with a plan"

"Good idea" I said and ducked down by a desk pulling Kim along with me.

"Any ideas?" she asked,

"No, all of them involve me arrogantly charging at him" I said.

"Do you think you're quick enough to dodge his spells and distract him?"

"What will you do?" I asked

"Grab the candy cane" she replied.

"He'll see you coming"

"That's why I said distract him, can you do it?"

"Sure"

Twenty minutes later I was coughing up slugs while Kim groaned beside me.

"What did you hit him with sir?" Kim asked as I threw up another slug.

"Well I was a bit distracted trying to get you and Potter at the same time so I'm not quite sure… it'll stop eventually…" Moody said. I glared at him and then looked down at the pile of slugs I'd been throwing up.

"I can't go to my parent's house like this!" I said and he raised a grizzly brow at me.

"You're going to your parent's house"

"Sir, you know that every year the Potters have a giant family reunion on Christmas Eve, everyone knows that, we've been doing it for like seven hundred years"

"Think Voldemort knows that too?" Moody asked.

"What? No – I mean… it'd be stupid to attack"

"Would it? Your dads the Minister for Magic, he only needs to kill one and this whole place crumbles"

"Sir I don't-" I stopped to puke up a mouthful of slugs.

"Well said" Moody said and then walked off. I turned to Kim who gave me a small smile.

"He's just trying to get you determined again. You always get up after you're knocked down but here you are sitting"

"Well I can't really sneak up on him, he'll hear me puking"

"Come on wuss we're getting that damn candy cane"

"Hmm what's got into you?"

"I'm really hungry"

"Watching me puke slugs hasn't ruined your appetite?" I asked

"Nope" she said standing up and pulling me up too. She led me through the darkened office and we hid in a cubicle thinking of another plan of action.

There was a scream from our right and we both climbed onto the desk to peer over the wall.

"Slugs!" a girl squealed before there was the unmistakable sound of someone slipping over.

"Sorry about that!" I called and Kim frowned at me. A spell flew past and I ducked out of the way.

"I know where you are if you keep shouting Potter" Moody growled from off in the distance.

Kim ducked back down and sat on the desk frowning. "We need a better plan then divide and conquer"

"Do you think we can recruit a few others?"

"I don't know… that's a mighty tasty looking candy cane they may not want to share. Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, it's pretty much storm him. I'm sure he could handle two or three of us but if he's outnumbered by say twenty of us we have him beat"

Several hours later I was still upchucking the occasional slug and the fifteen people I'd managed to create an alliance with were gathered around holding various slightly injured body parts.

"You're an idiot Potter" Collins said holding a hand to his bleeding mouth. I simply threw up a slug in response.

"No, the plan can totally work; we just have to work together a little more" Kim said nodding.

"Everyone ready"

"Wait I just painted my nails" Maxine said and everyone frowned at her, "I have a lunch to go to tomorrow"

"Ok!" I said and we all quickly hurried off.

Twenty minutes later Kim and I were sitting on a desk each eating half a candy cane while Moody lectured the rest of the trainees on how we'd stolen it off of him.

"Half of us were there sir!"

"Look honestly sir, if we are as annoying as Potter was just now our opponent would just kill us instantly" Collins said.

"It was childish yes, but affective and that's the point. Sometimes the weird works too and he duelled maturely which was also important" Moody said distractedly and Collins rolled his eyes.

"You can have a lick if you want" I offered and he narrowed his eyes. "Come on Collins, lick my cane"

"I'll be over here…" Collins muttered and moved to the back of the grouped trainees while everyone else snickered.

There was the sound of running footsteps and the two fully trained Aurors appeared in front of us. The one on the left leant forward to catch his breath and the other just stared at Moody.

"What?" Moody barked.

"Hostage situation" the second one said.

"How many?"

"Hostages or trainees?" the first asked.

"Scrimgeour isn't it?" Moody asked

"Yes sir,"

"You're an idiot, idiots don't get to talk" Moody said and Scrimgeour fell silent. The second man shot his companion a look before staring at Moody wide eyed.

"Who are you?"

"Will Peters sir"

"Peters, can you tell me anything useful?"

"Um… we got this note" Peters said and handed Moody the note. Moody read it quickly before looking up at Peters.

"He must be trying to get to the Minister" Peters said and Moody nodded. I froze.

"The Minister for International Co-Operation?" I guessed.

"No, the Minister for Magic" Moody said

"The Belgian one right?" I asked

"It's your father Potter" Moody said bluntly.

"He's at my house?" I asked.

"Yes…" Moody said.

"I need to sit down"

"You are sitting" Kim said.

"Oh… yay for me…" I muttered. I looked over at Moody, "Sir, my whole family is there… my grandparents, my parents… my wife…"

"I know and I'm sorry Potter but you know the rules, we don't negotiate, not with him" Moody said.

* * *

Sirius

"Ready to go Lils?" I called. She was just applying the finishing touches to herself in the bathroom as we would go straight from shopping to the Potters.

"I just don't see why you couldn't go shop weeks ago" she replied moodily.

"Because I'm a guy, now what do you want? Apparation express or the flying bike?"

"Neither thank you. I'm pregnant, what if the baby falls out?"

"Oh that won't happen, I am an excellent Apparator"

"No… your not… my eyebrows took forever to grow back… I still have to draw on a bit of the left one" she said.

"Fine, flying bike it is"

"Sirius! I'm pregnant I can't ride a motorbike"

"Oh you're not even showing" I said and she stepped out of the bathroom. She gave a twirl showing off her dress. I could only stare at her. "What? Too fancy? Not fancy enough!"

"No… no… um… you should be pregnant more… you're making it really hard for me to remain a good friend right now" I said and she blushed.

"I think that was a compliment"

"Very… curvy… it's… nice"

"Aw, am I actually making the great Sirius Black blush?" she asked.

"Shut up, I'm just used to you as daggy Evans from school and now you're all Red Siren Bombshell and that's so unfair" I said and she smiled.

"Thank you… um… lets just take the car"

"What?"

"Sirius, I'll freeze on a motorbike and Apparating will probably result in my vomit ruining your shoes"

"Fine we'll take the shitty car"

Lily nodded triumphantly and walked out of the house and over to the beat up old Toyota. I followed her locking up the house as I went. It was cold and the snow was falling heavily so I was not looking forward to driving. Plus it was Christmas Eve, traffic would be a bitch.

I started up the car and pulled out the drive. I'd been driving for ten minutes when I felt something sharp poke my neck. I glanced over and found Lily pointing her wand at my neck.

"Change of plans Black" she said.

"Oh crap, are you a Deatheater? I really have to start checking…"

"No! I'm still Lily; I just want to make a detour on your shopping trip that's all"

"Ok 'Lily' the only reason you'd have to point a wand at me to do something bad is if I'm the one who told you not to do it"

"I'm Lily you moron"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Prove it" I said and she smacked the back of my head. "Ow, Lils not while I'm driving"

"See"

"Fine, it's you… do you have to hit so hard?"

"Yes… you know I should be glad that you didn't shop earlier" she said, "Because now we're five hours early for the party and it just so happens I want to visit a friend a two and half hour drive away"

"A friend? What friend Lily?"

"I have friends, who said I didn't have friends"

"I know you have friends… two friends… _only_ two friends. People find it hard to be around you… I remember you struggling to find a third bridesmaid for your wedding"

"Kim is a friend and I didn't have to struggle to get her that way"

"Fine, you've got three friends, none of them live two and half hours away"

"It's nothing you need to worry about ok"

"Lils, I can't think of anything you'd need to force me to do, I'm pretty much game for anything. Except you know murder… I'm not cool with that"

"We're not going to kill anyone" she snapped and I frowned.

"You're trying to get to your parents aren't you?"

"No!"

"Good… because you know you can't"

"I know… they think I'm dead…" she muttered quietly. She started to sniffle and I sighed. I was a sucker for tears, a girl could scream and kick and shout and it'd be in one ear and out the other. But tears… oh I couldn't take it.

"Ok, ok Lily we'll go to your parents, please stop crying please!" I said, she was crying fully now, not those heart-wrenching sobs but obvious crying with the sniffing and slightly cracking voice.

"Wouldn't that be breaking some Ministry regulation?" she asked.

"Of course… but you know – I – don't um… I don't mind…" I said and she started to sob

"You're such a good friend!" she cried.

"Yeah I'm ace can you_ please_ stop crying" see what the tears do to me? I basically just offered to go to jail for her.

"Here I am kidnapping you and you offer to get in trouble" she sobbed and then leant over to hug me. "That's so nice"

"Yeah, yeah please stop" I begged.

"It's ok though… I only want to see my sister" Lily said. I resisted the urge to abruptly break and send her head flying into the windscreen. She wouldn't break through at the speed we were going but she'd hurt her head. I didn't though and simply glanced at her.

"Your sister? Wasn't she the worst one of your family?"

"She was just jealous… like all siblings are…"

"And her brainwashing your parents? Did she make them jealous too?"

"They were just scared of what they didn't know… kind of like everyone in _Carrie_"

"I don't know who that is" I said and she shook her head

"Oh it was just a story about a magical girl who was trying to get control of her abilities and no one in her town liked her because they were afraid of her power"

"And in the end they all accepted who she was and all was right?"

"No she went nuts and killed everyone"

"Awesome…" I muttered.

We both fell silent and I drove on thinking…

Lily was the only witch in her family of Muggles, non-magical people, and her sister was as Lily had said jealous of Lily's magic. Their parents had been on the wrong end of a wand one too many times and asked that they get their memories modified to have Lily die before they ever found out she was witch. Basically Lily's family sucked and still she wanted nothing more for Christmas then to see them. Well her sister, if she saw her parent's things could go very wrong indeed.

"Lily, your sister may not have had her memory modified but I'm sure she wasn't too upset about pretending you were dead, are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

"Yes, my sister may be awful sometimes but we haven't seen each other in over two years. I'm sure there's some small part of her that misses me"

"Sure it's the same with me and my brother Lily but he made his choice, he chose Voldemort and Petunia has made hers, she chose her snooty posh life"

"I didn't ask for your opinion and I'm the one with the wand here all right so we're doing what I want to"

"I know… but Lily there is a thing as caring too much" I said and she was silent.

We drove and drove until finally Lily told me to pull over. The sun had set and it was that dusky part of the evening when the moon hadn't risen yet.

The Christmas decorations on each of the houses were nearly blinding especially on number three which I'd pulled over in front of. I turned to Lily whose red hair appeared to be glowing due to some red lights shining from the house behind her. She glanced at the house too and we both sat frowning at the illuminated fake deer prancing across the lawn.

"That's just tacky…" she muttered then turned. "That's it… number four" she said pointing across the road. I glanced at the house, it was the only one not decorated with lights. Surprise, surprise…

From our position we could see into the living room of number four. I recognised the lanky blonde woman standing at the window as Lily's sister Petunia. Lily got out of the car before I could stop her. I should have gotten out of the car and stopped her but I didn't. I just stared. Lily made it halfway across the street before she stopped. She looked so lost standing alone in the middle of the street while it snowed around her. She took another step toward the house, this step a lot more hesitant then her others. She stopped again and simply stood.

Her sister had spotted her by now and frowned. Lily raised a hand slightly and waved. Petunia waved back a little before she turned to talk to someone. Lily quickly turned and hurried back to the car.

"Drive" she ordered. I didn't need telling twice and quickly took off down the street.

"You didn't go in" I said as we drove along.

"I couldn't… I was going to go in… but I couldn't… you were right. I care too much and I'm the only one getting hurt. She's not my sister anymore. No matter how much I want it to be it'll never be like when we were kids. Now we're just strangers who have the same parents… I was just saying goodbye" she said quietly.

"I'm proud of you" I said.

"Yeah I'll bet James will be too when you tell him" she muttered

"Tell him what? We got to his parents place a little late because traffic was crap and you were feeling to sick to travel magically" I said

"Thank you"

"For what?" I said and she smiled.

"What are you going to do about a gift?" she asked

"I'm going half with you and James" I said making her laugh.

We arrived at the Potters more then a little late thanks to crappy traffic and snow blocking off some roads. Over two hours late actually but that was all right. Mrs Potter loved us and Lily and I had already planned to tell her it was pregnancy issues and she'd instantly be ok.

We drove up to the door and quickly hurried up the stairs to stand on the porch of the impressive Potter mansion. I rang the doorbell and waited with Lily shivering slightly beside me.

"You all right?" I asked concerned and she smiled.

"Yeah, it'll be ok inside" she muttered sniffing a little and I nodded.

The door opened and Mrs Potter smiled at us.

"You two are so late" she said brightly. I took Lily's hand and gave her a look that said simply 'shut up'.

"Sorry Mrs Potter, traffic you know, Lily insisted on driving like a Muggle" I said

"Well shame on you Lily" Mrs Potter said and Lily raised her eyebrows at me.

"We'll just put our coats away and join you in the ball room right?"

"No, no, I'll take your coats, you two just wait here" Mrs Potter said and Lily and I both handed over our coats. She walked off to put them away and Lily turned to me.

"That's not Mrs Potter…" Lily said reaching for her wand

"It is… she's under a curse" I said stopping her.

"What?"

"Shh" I hissed. Mrs Potter came back and gave us a smile before leading us down the elegant hallway.

"What do we do?" Lily whispered.

"Shut up" I replied quickly.

"What?" Mrs Potter asked.

"Nothing" Lily and I said as sincerely as possible.

Mrs Potter stopped in front of a closed set of double doors that led to the ball room.

"After you two" Mrs Potter said sweetly. I heard Lily whimper and I glanced down and saw why. A thin trail of blood was leaking from under the doors staining the beautiful marble floor.

I smiled at Mrs Potter and pulled open the door. Lily started to hyperventilate beside me and I took her hand and led her into the room carefully. The beautiful white walls were splattered with crimson and the floor was just a sea of watery blood and broken glass. I carefully led Lily through the room. I stopped right in the centre and found Lily had closed her eyes. We stopped under the chandelier and I looked over to the 'Y' shaped stairs. The Potter family was gathered at the foot of the stairs, a few of them were missing though and I assumed they were the ones splattered on the walls. People in hooded robes stood holding the horde of Potters at wand point to make sure none of them would get away. From the skull like masks on their faces I could tell they were Deatheaters. That made the lone figure standing on the stairs their leader.

"That's Voldemort" Lily breathed.

"I did get that thank you" I replied.

More of the Deatheaters stood around the room blocking the exits and standing in front of the glass wall of windows.

"Ah my dear sweet Lillian you join us at last…" Voldemort called and I felt Lily tense beside me.

"What do you want with me now?" Lily replied.

"Ah well tonight I'm not here for you at all, though it's always nice to see old friend. Didn't you miss me?"

"Not particularly"

"I didn't know that, I mean I've left you such lovely parting gifts" Voldemort said and Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Is this your date for tonight?" Voldemort asked and Lily said nothing. "Where's your husband?" Lily just glared at him defiantly.

"Sweetie, I'm not going to leave here and kill him, that vendetta's for another day"

"Then why are you here killing his family?" Lily asked

"To send a message of course" Voldemort said. Lily and I both stared at him blankly.

"I thought you were trying to purify the race. Get rid of all the half-bloods and Muggle-borns" I said.

"I can have more then one message" Voldemort cried and I glanced at Lily. "It's so that everyone learns that no one is safe. I haven't done anything in four months and you lot think I'm gone. I'm not… I'm still here and what better way to strike fear through everyone again then by murdering a vast majority of a Pureblood family. There's also the added bonus of letting everyone know that I will kill anyone who opposes me"

"You're going to kill all the Potters?" Lily asked.

"No, there are a significant few missing so I won't be killing them all, but a couple dozen is more then adequate" Voldemort said, "And you two get to watch! Bring the girl!"

"NO!" people screamed as someone was pulled out of the group of Potters by two of the Deatheaters. It was James' cousin Josephine.

"Oh… and I know you two still have your wands… try anything and my Deatheaters have been told to free fire on that group there…" Voldemort called to us. Lily and I had both been trying to subtly reach for our wands, I glanced at her and she let her hand drop to her side. I did the same and we both simply watched as Josephine kicked and fought at the Deatheaters dragging her. She was thrown at Voldemort's feet and he laughed a cruel high pitched laugh.

"We have to do something" Lily whispered to me.

"Are you insane? I will not responsible for killing James' family members" I hissed and she glared at me.

"I'm too obvious to move. My red hair will be seen from up there you have to go!"

"Are you kidding me? We're separate from the hostages _any_ movement from us he'll see"

"You have to"

"I can't ok, I can't… if you think of a plan that's actually doable then maybe I'll have a go, and I can't leave this room remember…" I said and Lily nodded.

There were screams and then a thump as Josephine hit the ground. Lily gasped and turned putting her head on my shoulder. I could feel her shaking as she cried.

Voldemort kicked Josephine and she rolled down the stairs in to the crowd of Potters most of them began to scream again.

"Drag her out" Voldemort ordered and two Deatheaters went and started to drag the body off into the music room. "Bring me another one"

Two Deatheaters grabbed someone and dragged him up the stairs. The Potters began screaming again. It was James' father.

"Lily" I said shaking her off my shoulder, "Lily! I don't mean to rush you but if you've got a plan now would be a good time to put it into action" I said giving her a gentle shake. She pulled away from me and turned to face the stairs.

"Wait!" Lily shouted. The room went silent. "Kill me instead"

"Bad plan, bad plan!" I hissed.

"Lily, there's no instead… just first and second!" Voldemort said.

"Fine, kill me first" she said.

"What have you got up your sleeve?" Voldemort asked leaning on the railing.

"Nothing"

"You said that last time and I lost two of my favourite minions"

"Well… this time… I'm uh… a little too rattled to think of a plan" Lily said glancing at me.

"Very well… walk to your death, see how many of them will stop you" Voldemort said his eyes sweeping over the crowd of Potters.

"I'll be ok" Lily said and hugged me.

"Lily, if I live through this James will kill me" I said as she tried to pull away. I simply held her tighter.

"Sirius, you worry too much" she said and I let her go. She pulled away and gave me a small smile before turning and walking away.

* * *

whooo drama! Whooo! All right, I'm tired and I want to go to bed. It's three thirty am so I will do that, the sleeping thing… yeah my brain not working so great. I know it was kind of sudden but I wanted it and as I'm the author I can do that. Well… review, tell me if you loved it, hated it whatever, Penny


	5. Something Stupid

Hello again readers like my quick update? So do I! I'd actually written this and the other one as a super long chapter but thought it could be split so here it is. Thanks to Kaladelia Undomiel, NJ MacReiley, kb1073, pinktortilla and lmurph2592 for the reviews! On with the story

* * *

Chapter Five: Something Stupid

Lily

I walked slowly and shakily. Every step I took I hoped someone would try and stop me.

I was in a kind of shock; I couldn't believe I'd volunteered to die. It was something old Lily would have done, old Lily who had nothing to live for. I didn't want to die; I didn't want my baby to die. It hadn't even had the chance to live… sure after I had it, I'd go right back to fighting the good fight; I wouldn't have to worry if I died. It'd go to a good home, with Sirius… or Remus… probably Remus he was less likely to drop it. I digress; I didn't want to die tonight… not like this…

I made it to the crowd of Potter who parted for me and let me pass. I slowly walked past James' relatives. His cousins, his aunts and uncles, his grandparents… no one said a word. They all just watched silently as I walked through.

I started to climb the stairs still waiting for someone to call out after me. Offer their place instead, they knew I was pregnant, Mrs Potter would have told everyone the moment she knew. So they would all know and still no one stepped forward. I kept my brave face on as I climbed. I stopped a few feet from Voldemort. He had pulled down his hood and I could see his face twisted into a frown. I'd seen his face before but it had looked human back then. Now it was waxy and drawn, off, like a mask.

"Aw… did you think someone would help you?" he asked and I kept my face blank. "I can read it in your eyes you idiot, you can act like the bravest girl in all the world but your eyes shine with the truth"

Honestly, I had no plan. I had no fight in me and that meant I was pretty much doomed in the most crucial time.

I stared into Voldemort's cold dark eyes for a whole minute before I broke down in tears. To say he was shocked was an understatement. He actually lowered his wand in shock like he'd never had someone beg for their life before.

"Please don't kill me" I begged.

"What?" he asked.

"Please"

"What? No! No stop, stop! You don't cry or beg. Lily Potter is proud, what happened to my feisty girl, remember? You kneed me in the crotch, where's that girl gone?"

"I'm not ready… I'm not ready" I said shaking my head.

"Oh you think anyone I killed was?"

"Please don't…"

"Lily if I don't kill you you'll have to watch everyone else die" he said. I sobbed shaking my head again.

"I'm too young, it's not my turn… it's not" I said trying to keep my tears away my voice cracking with the effort. I couldn't – for the first time I was actually scared, scared that I wouldn't be getting out of this. Every other time I'd faced him some part of me had known that I would get out that someone would help. Even when I'd been told there was no hope. But just now, when I'd walked past the Potters and they simply stood I knew.

Sirius couldn't help me… he'd be killed and honestly when your given the choice between you and someone else you pick you right?

James wasn't coming, he didn't even know. None of the Potters had escaped to warn the ministry. He was loosing his whole family tonight and he didn't even know it…

"It's their turn!" I cried pointing to the group of Potters who all gasped. "I mean not the kids… obviously… but the hundred and twenty-year-old there, she's lived a good life"

"Was good till you started trying to end it you harlot!" Grandma Potter snapped at me.

"All right Lily" Voldemort said holding up a hand to silence me. "I'll let you go"

"Oh my God" I breathed.

"But now you owe me your life" he said and I stared at him wide eyed. "If we meet again..." he raised his wand once more, aiming straight at my chest "You aren't allowed to bargain or plead or anything all right, you die. That's it. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Um… what if we don't meet again?"

"Then you'll get to live"

"Oh… right that was kind of obvious" I muttered and he nodded.

"I do have a few terms that you must agree to"

"I'm already letting you kill me what else do you want?"

"Your first born child"

"No"

"Second?"

"No"

"Fine, fine all right… I guess well obviously I'll have to take your wand so you can't try anything heroic" he said. "Also… you have to pick one"

"One what?"

"Hostage"

"Why?"

"Pick one!" he shouted at me. I flinched and then looked down at the Potters. Each of them stared back at me silently before they all started to scream and plead at me for their lives or the ones of their small children. I spotted Sirius who'd been dragged into the crowd. He shook his head frantically and held up a seven year old boy.

I turned back to Voldemort and he smirked, it was a chilling thing to see.

"Sirius Black?" he asked and I nodded. "Black dies first!"

"NO!" I said shaking my head.

"Lily I can't keep doing you favours. And remember I said if I let you live you have to watch everyone die" Voldemort said.

It took four Deatheaters to get Sirius up the stairs and they still couldn't hold him very still. Finally they pushed him down in front of Voldemort and started to kick him.

"Guys, guys! Self control!" Voldemort snapped and the Deatheaters stopped kicking bowing their heads and stepping back. I dropped to my knees and helped Sirius sit up. He spat out a mouthful of blood and then smiled.

"At least I'll be dead before I start to bruise" he said with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry" I said quietly and he shook his head.

"Don't be… I'm the one who should be… so many things I didn't do… and Moony still owes me a kiss that bastard. Unless…"

"I'm not telling him to kiss your corpse"

"Fair enough" Sirius said and then hauled himself up to stand. I stared up at him unable to move my legs.

"Don't think to fight me Black" Voldemort warned.

"I'm not. I'm just not going to die on my knees like a dog" he said and I smiled. "Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell James… well just think of something cool and tell him I said it…" he said and I nodded, "And don't watch" I nodded again and turned away.

There was a loud crunch and groan, I frowned and turned back. Voldemort had punched Sirius in the nose and while Sirius clutched his face Voldemort stood frowning at his hand checking for damage.

"OW! Why did you hit me?" Sirius asked

"Hmm? Oh sorry I meant to tell you I'm not going to kill you. You can both go" Voldemort said.

"What?" Sirius and I both asked.

"Oh you want to die, very well" Voldemort said and raised his wand.

"No living is cool" Sirius said.

"Then just hand over your wands and go, probably not the way you came in though, if you go through those Potters, they will maul you when they find out I'm letting you go!" he shouted those last four words.

"Oh yeah that was mature" Sirius said as the Potters below began to scream and yell in protest trying to get past the Deatheaters. A few bright flashes from spells later and the crowd stopped fighting but the screams grew panicked. I recognised the bright green flash as the killing curse but there were a few other colours in there so not everyone was dead.

"Wands" Voldemort said and I hesitated only slightly before handing over my wand. Sirius handed his over as well and we were then led off by two Deatheaters.

"Oh and Black" Voldemort called after us, "if you see your brother can you tell him to return that book I leant him, I want to check something in it"

"Sure" Sirius replied uncertainly. Our Deatheater guards pushed us both toward the stairs so we could climb higher. There was one in front and one behind so we couldn't escape. The one in front led us along the balcony and I stared out across the ball room below. Another Potter was being dragged up the stairs and I turned away.

"Lily" Sirius said in warning.

"Don't, just don't" I said

"You did what you had to Lily, there was no way you could save them all" Sirius said

"Yes, Lily, it's not your fault. Listen to Black" the Deatheater behind us said. I recognised the voice immediately, I glanced at Sirius, and it seemed he had too because he was glaring at the Deatheater. It was a classmate from school and my first wizard friend. He'd explained the magical world to me back when I was young so I wasn't all too shocked when I received my Hogwarts letter. We drifted apart at school and he'd fallen far deeper into the dark arts after we graduated.

"Watch where you're going Black" Snape said and Sirius walked into a door. The Deatheater in front of us who had pulled it open giggled a little as Sirius rubbed his face. I didn't recognise the giggle but Sirius had and he was now glaring at the Deatheater.

"Bella… I didn't recognise you under all that fat" Sirius said

"I live a good life; I'm allowed to enjoy it"

"Not that much" Sirius said

"What about the whale here?" Bella asked

"It's called curves, slut" I said

"Bitch"

"Whore" I snapped.

"I'll let you take them from here Sev, I want to be able to wash the Mudblood stench off me and if I spend any more time with her it'll never leave" Bella said.

"A round of applause for my cousin Bellatrix Lestrange everybody" Sirius said clapping with mock enthusiasm. I joined in and to my surprise so did Snape. Bella flipped us off and then stalked away.

"Out" Snape said and Sirius and I walked through the double doors and then down a flight of stairs. Snape followed along behind us as we made our way through the Potter mansion. We were ushered out onto the front porch.

"Your wands will be sent back to you within eight to ten business days, don't try anything, Voldemort will know" Snape said and then slammed the front door in our faces.

"Like we can, we have no wands and that means no Apparating. By the time we drive to the ministry it'll be day time and Voldemort will be gone and everyone will be dead. And we need to get him out right now so no one else dies" Sirius said sitting down on the steps. I watched him pull out a cigarette and light it. I headed down the steps and stood in front of him

"I'm pregnant, that smoke may be harming my baby"

"You are so paranoid about that baby" he muttered butting out the cigarette for me.

"Thank you" I said and he nodded. "What about the two-way mirror? James should have his on him right now right? You can contact him"

"No, Moony has mine because he's doing werewolf things for the Order and Dumbledore has James' because he's the head of the Order" Sirius sighed. I started to pace the cobbled path ignoring the cold and the snow shifting into my heels.

"Ok" I said determinedly "We have to get Voldemort out of there quick right?"

"Right" Sirius agreed watching me pace.

"But, we can't go back in because we have no way to defend ourselves"

"Right" Sirius said. I frowned at him and then at the still slightly smoking cigarette and I smiled.

"What? What?" Sirius asked obviously confused to my smile.

"What's the one thing Voldemort isn't?"

"Sexually attractive? Uh… loving? Oh uh human!"

"No… he's not fire proof" I said and Sirius frowned.

"No one is"

"Exactly, so he'll have to get out and abandon his plan. Give me your flask"

"Lily, I don't have any alcohol"

"You're an alcoholic fork it over!" I ordered and Sirius sighed handing me the flask he had hidden in his jacket.

"Whisky…" he muttered and I nodded.

"Ok, which room has the most alcohol in it?" I asked

"Um… the ball room, it was all over the floor mixed with the blood"

"We can't use the ball room, there's an entire wall of glass he'll see us"

"The sitting room, there's a cabinet of fine crystals and scotch"

"Ok… can you do that thing Remus does with his hands?" I asked.

"What? He does that to you too? James is going to be pissed…"

"I meant those flames that he has"

"Oh, right of course that makes more sense…" Sirius said

"Can you do it? He doesn't use a wand its perfect"

"I'll try…" Sirius said and I nodded.

"Ok, where's the sitting room?" I asked

"Right at the front, the window is just there" Sirius said and pointed. I took off my heels not trusting them in thick snow and then trudge along the snowy garden bed to the window he'd indicated. I bent down and ripped part of my dress. I wrapped it around my hand and a bit of my arm then tried to break through the window. It took me a fair few goes and I was pretty sure my hand was broken but I ignored it. I pulled the window open and then turned to Sirius to see how he was doing.

"Sorry, Lils, I think it's just a Moony thing" he said walking over to me.

"Ok plan 'B'" I said, "Hoist me up so I can climb in"

"You can't go in"

"I won't go out of your sight I promise" I said and he sighed but braced his hands for me to step on. I stepped up and climbed through the window.

"Wait," Sirius said and handed me a small bag of fireworks. I took them from him and then headed through the dark room. I was careful not to trip over the couch or the tables trying to remember where everything was from the few times I'd been here. I made it to the cabinet and pulled it open quietly. I placed the fireworks in various parts of the cabinet hoping the explosion would be big enough. Then I grabbed a few random bottles of alcohol and then splashed the cabinet a little before leading a trail of liquor back to the window. I made sure I got some alcohol through the open door into the hall so the fire would spread.

I then climbed back through the window dumping the empty bottles into the snow. I carefully unwrapped the ripped part of my dress from my hand and stuck some of it into the top of the whisky bottle. I held my hand out for Sirius to hand over his lighter which he quickly did.

"Maybe you should throw it, my aim is terrible" I said and he nodded. I handed him the flask and then lit the piece of material. Sirius quickly threw it into the room but didn't wait to see if it had landed on a trail of liquor. He grabbed my arm and began to run dragging me after him. We ran for only seconds before there was an explosion sending us flying a few good feet. We both landed face first in the snow and hurriedly rolled over to see. The fire was spreading surprisingly fast thanks to the aid of the fire works shooting off in all directions.

Sirius stood up and pulled me up as well so we could both stare at the fire consuming James' childhood home.

"No doubt the Deatheaters heard that…" Sirius said and I nodded staring at the hypnotising flames licking the side of the house we'd partially exploded.

"Come on" Sirius said taking my hand and leading me further away. We walked all the way down the path and stopped at the gates.

I turned back to the house; the entire bottom floor was on fire now and would soon spread upward.

"I hope Voldemort didn't do something so the Potters couldn't get out" I said quietly.

"I know what you're thinking Lily and you are not going back in there" Sirius said.

"I am"

Sirius and I both turned to the new voice. It was James. Ministry employees were rushing past him to try and tame the fire.

"James no" I said shaking my head.

"Lily yes" he said not looking at me. His eyes hadn't left the house. I turned to Sirius who quickly jumped on top of James to make sure he couldn't do anything stupid. James flipped them over and rammed his elbow into Sirius' face. He got up and sprinted off.

"JAMES!" I screamed after him. I turned to Sirius who had his hands on his face.

"Yep, that's definitely broken now" he muttered. I quickly knelt down pulling his head up into my lap so that his head was slightly elevated. I stared down at him for moment and he grinned even though his face was covered in blood.

"He'll come back… it takes more then fire to get rid of him" he said and I nodded sadly before turning back to watch the burning house.

* * *

James

I didn't bother going through the house, I needed this precious oxygen. I ran around the side and jumped the fence hurrying into the back of our property. I sprinted across the grounds trying not to look at my burning home on the left. The bright orange of the flames commanded attention though. I spared a glance, I could see through the wall of windows into the ball room, I could only make out a few people frantically running through walls of flames across the room.

I ran over to the barn and headed inside looking for a horse. The only one left was my annoying talking horse Peppermint.

"Pep," I said and he looked up, "my parents sold the others didn't they?"

"Yeah" he said sadly.

"Great looks like you're my guy" I said and quickly headed over to him.

"I'm not saddled, your going to have sore balls"

"I'll risk it" I said and climbed up. I steered him out of the barn and he stopped dead.

"Holy fuck, what did you do?" he asked and I kicked my heels into him to make him start running.

"Nothing, faster!" I ordered digging my heels in again. He sprinted across the grounds and I steered him toward the glass windows of the ball room.

"James, wall" he said

"I know"

"Wall!"

"I know"

"Wall! Wall! Wall!"

"Trust me!" I snapped and pulled out my wand. We headed closer and closer to the wall of glass. It was starting to crack from the heat and I flicked my wand, a simple charm and it shattered. Pep leapt up into the room, I could hear him muttering in protest but I ignored him and led him through the room searching for anyone. It was awful; it smelt horrible, there was blood all over the walls and the floor was almost entirely on fire. I searched for people but could only find the dead, most of them too burnt to properly identify for which I was grateful. Pep was starting to whine in protest due to the heat and I was about ready to faint as well.

I spotted movement and got Pep to leap over some flames. It was my grandfather. I quickly pulled him onto Pep.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"I don't know" he wheezed. I steered Pep over to the windows of glass and got him to jump down. I let my grandfather off

"Go round to the front, there should be help" I said and then got Pep to jump back into the room.

"James, there's no one else in here…" Pep said

"There is"

"They may be trapped in other rooms, when you broke the windows you gave them a chance to make their own escape, we have to be quick, this place is falling apart" Pep said and I nodded urging him through the room. As we made it to the double doors leading to the rest of the house the chandelier fell taking half the roof with it. Chairs and tables fell through from an upstairs living room though it was impossible to tell if they were already on fire or had just caught it happened so fast.

Pep and I ran through the entire bottom floor leaping over beams and parts of the roof as the house fell down around us. Everything seemed to take twice as long. The trip from the ball room to the sitting room normally took about three minutes but felt like three hours. I found my cousin Alex and kept him with me as there was no quick exit nearby.

"James, we gotta get out of here" Pep said as a piece of roof nearly crushed us. I was feeling woozy, the heat messing with my mind, the ash and smoke choking me and dusting my glasses.

"No, we have to find more people" I said shaking my head and urging Pep forwards.

"James, we can't, you're delirious and that's my hair you're tugging on" Alex said and I stopped.

"Sorry…" I muttered and urged the real Pep on ward to find more people. I was starting to black out, missing bits… I woke up every so often to find just flames and it was like I'd never passed out at all. Then I fell unconscious.

It was cold when I woke up, I recognised the feeling. I was lying in snow, the last time I'd done it. I'd been knocked over by Lily in a snow ball fight. Her aim sucks but I'd dodged the wrong way and got whacked.

Lily!

I sat up and felt my head swim. I groaned and held still for a few moments before standing up. I stared around, my house was still burning, there was blood dripping into my eye and bits of debris seemed to have been blasted around me. I looked around and found Pep lying in the snow. I quickly crawled over to him. There was blood splattering the snow where he'd fallen. I looked him over and found the source of it as a cut on his abdomen.

"Pep? Pep?" I called. "Peppermint?"

"James... come closer..." he whispered. I leant closer.

"Yes Pep?"

"Closer" he whispered and I again leant closer.

"Yes Pep?"

"Closer"

"Yes Pep?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he shouted and I flinched back. He scrambled up and glared down at me.

"Are you ok? Your stomach is cut" I said

"It's healed... I get a thousand lifetimes as a horse, that's the curse. I'm now down to eight-hundred and thirty-two thanks" he snapped.

"You died?"

"Yes, believe it or not smoke and flames are bad for horses. Incidentally they're bad for humans too, so you get yourself over to the medics"

"I'm so sorry Pep, if I'd realised you'd been hurt-"

"It was when I was escaping with you unconscious. Do I have to kick you over to those medics? Because my kick can kill a man and I don't think you've got a thousand lives up your sleeve" I turned and led the way over to the medics.

When the Healer saw me he immediately hauled me into the ambulance and began to wave his wand at me while pouring potions down my throat making me cough and splutter.

"James!" Sirius cried, "Lily! He's over here!" he then went to hug me but got pushed back by another medic.

Sirius glared at the young woman who glared back, "You can't go hugging him, he's injured, you'll do more damage"

"Fine, I'll just hug you" Sirius said hugged her back to his front. He carefully rested chin on her head and grinned at me.

Lily appeared moments later and stopped catching her breath, a smile coming onto her face as she saw me.

"Hey Lily" Pep said smoothly and Lily grinned.

"Hi Pep" Lily said stroking down his nose before turning to me. "You James Potter are an idiot"

"Are you ok?" I asked ignoring her statement completely. She nodded, she looked fine though was covered in black soot making it look like she'd travelled badly with floo powder. I couldn't see any blood on her so she may be fine but I was paranoid.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes James, I was out before the fire even started. I'll explain it all later ok," she said with a small smile.

"So... who didn't make it?" I asked. Lily immediately looked down while Sirius suddenly became very interested in the medi-witch's hair.

"Um... should I be asking who _did_ make it?" I asked and Lily looked down so I glared at Sirius. He started squirm before he groaned in defeat and started talking.

"Well, if you count the two you saved... it'd be... two" he muttered.

"My parents?" I asked

"Uh... well we haven't been able to find them but a few ambulances have taken off they might already be at the hospital" Sirius said and Lily nodded.

"You were standing out here the whole time, you saw them or you didn't!" I snapped.

"Well we were in an ambulance for a while; because I'm pregnant they wanted to run all these tests..." Lily said quietly.

"The baby!" I said outraged with myself for forgetting. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, yes... he's fine" she said nodding.

"He?" I repeated and she laughed.

"Yeah, when I was being checked over by the medics they... they um ran a test for me. Muggles wouldn't be able to tell so soon but... that's magic I guess" she said.

"A boy... we're having a boy" I said and she nodded. I smacked the Healer away and held my arms out for Lily. She quickly stepped over to hug me.

"What did I say about hugs?" the medi-witch snapped and Sirius put his hand over her mouth. I grinned and hugged Lily closer.

"You'll need to stay at the hospital overnight for observation" the Healer said and I nodded not letting Lily go.

"We'll find your parents there" Lily assured me

"I just hope it's not in the morgue..." I muttered and she pulled away from me.

"Your Potters... you're all known for your strong will to live" she said soothingly and I nodded. She gave a small smile and then kissed me softly. "It'll be ok"

"Sure..."

* * *

I apologise for the shortness of it and the not so awesome ending but you know they can't all be epic cliffhangers. Will James' parents survive? Plead for them in your reviews and I shall see...

I've been reading the HP series over again to refresh myself with last few books and the prophesy and stuff but I'm only up to number four and as it's my least favourite in the series I will be a while. So I may be updating even more randomly then before also I'm going away at the end of the year so there will be a month of nothing and for that I apologise... again, leave a review and all that, thanks Penny


	6. Different

Ok, I am so sorry for the delay! I did try really but when I realised I'd be going away really soon I buckled down for you. Thanks to, lmurph2592, kb1073, Kaladelia Undomiel and kiayame-san for the reviews, Penny

* * *

Chapter Six: Different

James

I was nervous but my excitement was squashing that all out. The scarlet steam engine gleamed magnificently in front of me and I was trying not to jump with joy. My first trip to Hogwarts. I was actually going, after hearing my parents stories of their Hogwarts days there was nothing more I wanted then to make stories of my own.

Mum was fussing over my hair trying to make it lie flat, but it wouldn't, it never did.

"Oh Francis I don't know if we should let him go, he is a bit young, he won't be eleven until next year. Maybe we should hold him back a year" mum said.

"Penina" dad said trying not to roll his eyes. I grinned and he winked at me.

"What if he can't make any friends?" mum asked starting to tear up.

"He will" dad said reassuringly and turned to me, "Don't worry if you don't make friends right away, once you're in your house you'll click just like that"

"And we will love you no matter what house you go in" mum said sniffling a little.

"Except Slytherin" dad said and mum hit his arm. "I'm joking, if you're in Slytherin I'm throwing you out of the family"

"Francis really!" mum scolded and dad laughed.

"Any house is fine Jim we'll be proud of you no matter what" dad said and ruffled my hair.

"Francis! I just got it to lie flat, oh never mind. I'm going to say a quick hello to the Longbottoms do not get on that train till I get back" mum said and I nodded. She gave me a quick hug, "my little baby!"

"Yeah that's going to help him make friends" dad muttered and mum simply didn't hear or chose not to. She beamed at me before bustling off.

"Now you got everything?" dad asked and I nodded. "All packed?" I nodded again, "Got that parcel I gave you?" I nodded once more. "Good lad"

"Are you going to tell me what it is? I just want to be amply prepared if it's something embarrassing" I said and he smiled.

"All right" he said glancing around the crowded platform. He shuffled a little closer to me and I listened intently.

"It's an invisibility cloak" he said quietly. I frowned at him then raised an eyebrow at him.

"Like the one from the story mum used to me?" I asked.

"Exactly" he said

"Ok, sure dad whatever" I muttered and he sighed.

"You'll see" he said and I nodded. "Look James... no matter what I've said before I am really proud of you. Just so proud and I'm sorry that I'm going to miss some things but know that I love you. I always will no matter what happens, ok?"

"Ok" I said nodding and he smiled. The train whistle blew and dad quickly hurried me onto the train.

"What about mum?" I asked

"She'll be all right" he said and kissed the top of my head, "Be good"

"Always"

"Goodbye James"

"Bye" I said.

"James? _James!_"

I jolted awake and Sirius stepped back. I sniffed and quickly rubbed at my eyes. I was alarmed when I found tears there; I quickly brushed them away and slipped on my glasses.

"Fine, I'm fine" I said and Sirius nodded.

"What's up?" I asked sitting up a bit.

"It's two in the afternoon. I thought you'd want to be up"

"Strangely I'm actually enjoying dream land a little better than reality right now"

"Yeah... I can see how it would be a nice alternative. Lily about?" he asked and I looked at him. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking around my bedroom. He wasn't dumb and it was kind of obvious what had happened.

Clothes had been pulled out of the dressers and strewn across the floor, most of them mine. The wardrobe was hanging open with only my clothes inside. My school trunk was still sitting neatly under my bed, probably unpacked from my last year at Hogwarts. Lily's was gone, her clothes also gone; only a few of them left behind as they obviously hadn't fitted inside the trunk. Her school books were thrown across the floor along with her old uniform as she'd tried to make space.

"When?" Sirius asked.

"About a week ago..." I said quietly.

"How long?"

"Didn't say nor did she tell me where she was going"

"Um... why?" he asked a little awkwardly.

"I yelled at her... a lot... it's not fair on her..."

"Hey, this isn't fair on anyone. You've lost everything in such a short time" he said. Short time... it didn't feel short... it felt like the longest fucking day of my life. Just like a bad day that never seemed to ever end. Ever since the fire my concept of time had kind of been garbled. The days all kind of crashed on top of each other and I didn't know what had happened to them.

I was at the hospital talking to a doctor, dad hadn't made it, and mum was in a coma. I was at the former site of my childhood home, all the bodies had been retrieved when could I identify them?

I was at the Ministry, Voldemort had not been apprehended, two Deatheaters had perished in the fire and one was in custody, the rest of them had got away. I watched as a new minister was sworn in, she was sorry for my loss. The Ministry paid for my father's funeral, one less thing to worry about. He did not get the usual 'died in office' service. Practically unrecognisable due to burns he was simply buried with hundreds of Ministry personnel gathered to watch then business as usual...

I was in a graveyard. The insurance from the fire was gone, spent on funerals, funeral planners, caskets, cremations and burials. Each of them, my family, they all wanted something different and I could not deny them their last wishes...

My inheritance was dwindling, I sold my parents land, someone else could tear down my burnt out house, I would not. I sold the furniture that survived the fire... money was slowly dripping away and I could not stop it.

Lily was staying with her friends, 'give me space to grieve' she said. That was a lie, I knew it. She'd left because I was constantly venting my frustration at her. I didn't hit her or anything... just shouted... we both shouted a lot... now I was alone. Lost in unfamiliar territory.

I spent my time working or at the hospital beside mum, it had been... I don't fucking no but she'd showed no signs. No signs of deterioration but no signs of improvement either... they were going to give up on her soon I knew it. I was dreading that moment and hoping that if this day never ended I wouldn't have to face tomorrow.

"What's the date?" I asked.

"January 22nd" Sirius replied.

"Fuck" I said putting my face in my hands. "Lily's birthday is in like seven days"

"Eight" Sirius corrected

"I can't even remember her birthday!" I sighed.

"James... seriously right now I don't think that's a big priority"

"Oh yeah, losing my wife is not a priority. I've already lost my parents-"

"Your mums dying not dead there's a difference"

"Not making me feel better!" I snapped.

"Oh yeah poor you" he said and I stood up glaring at him. "Come on, you've got enough time, why not sit around and mope? Let's list all the horrible things that have happened to _YOU!_ Because your life is so fucking terrible isn't it? Your mum's life's over. Fuck her right? She's already dead to you isn't she? And Lily? Well that bitch moved out so I'm sure it's not long before she's looking for a divorce. After all, your dad's dead so there's nothing really keeping her with you"

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked.

"Nothing! My life is a fucking piece of cake compared to yours isn't it?" he snapped.

"You are way out of line" I said glaring at him. He sighed, nodding slowly and then out of nowhere punched me in the face. Caught completely off guard I fell over clutching a hand to my eye. He'd broken my glasses and I knew I'd have a black eye tomorrow.

"What the fuck dude? What is wrong with you?" I asked glaring up at him.

"Many things" he simply replied in that cocky voice of his. I swept my leg around and knocked him over. I quickly jumped up and swiftly kicked him in the stomach. He rolled away and stood up gasping.

"What's it matter if she leaves you? I mean she was bound to after you practically tricked her into marrying you in the first place" he said and I stared at him. Unbelievable... I couldn't handle hearing those things right now, not from him...

He smirked easily and all I wanted to do was punch that stupid smirk right off his face. So I did, I hit his jaw happy to see him spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Oh... fuck I think I bit my tongue"

"You didn't, you're still talking just fine, fine enough to take it back"

"Take what back? I'm just being honest. Everyone knows the girl hates you" he said and I punched him again this time aiming for the nose. His hands flew to his face and I mimicked his smirk from earlier as he looked at me. All I saw was a flash of black as he swung his leg up and kicked me across the face. He got in another kick at my chest and I crashed through the door into the hall.

"James?" my cousin Alex asked sounding worried. I ignored him and removed myself from the broken wood. My head was thumping and my head stinging painfully but Sirius was still coming at me. He kicked the unbroken part of the door off and headed for me.

"Poor James... everyone you love seems to leave when you need them most. No daddy and mummy's fading fast. Wifey's well on her way out the door..." he said and spat out another mouthful of blood. "Seems no one can stand to be around you very long huh?"

I tackled him to the ground punching every bit of him I could reach. He was always slippery though and easily flipped us over kicking me painfully and repeatedly as he scrambled to get up. He'd always been a kicker and it was bloody painful where some of those kicks landed. He stood over me and I tripped him up again. I stood up on shaky legs; he'd been kicking them incessantly so it was a little harder to stand up. I headed into the kitchen well aware he was following me. I dived over the table knocking off a vase and dirty plates to the floor. I fell on top of them and groaned feeling the broken shards cut into me.

My other cousins Sarah and Martin were standing near the fridge trying to keep out of the way. Sirius leapt over the table and landed on top of me. Using his own momentum I threw him off me and he skidded across the room to the glass door leading to my back yard. He yanked open the door and hurried out into the yard and I immediately followed. I dived on top of him again and he punched and kicked at me. We both rolled away and stood up again fists ready for more. We stood eyeing each other off for a few moments before he came at me once more. He punched me in the mouth and got in another kick to my face. Quickly while he was still putting his foot down I punched him again in the nose. I grabbed his shoulders bringing him forwards so I could knee him in the stomach. He groaned and keeled over where I started to basically kick the shit out of him. He rolled away from me and held up a hand in surrender. I punched him again and got thrown across the yard by a spell. I lay on the damp snow staring at the sky. Now I'd stopped moving everything started hurt. I could hear Sirius gasping from close by, coughing and spitting blood into the snow every so often.

"Fine example you are" my grandfather barked at me.

"He started it" I said

"Shut up! Both of you get out of here! And don't even think about coming back until you've knocked some sense into yourselves. I don't care if you knock it into each other; I'm not letting you do it in front of those kids. Now get!"

I scrambled up slipping a little in the snow and quickly helped Sirius up. I dragged him around to the front and sat down in my front garden breathing rapidly.

Sirius patted my shoulder and I gave him a glare. He pointed to his broken jaw. It actually looked quite gross because it being broken meant he couldn't close his mouth so there was a small trickle of blood just flowing freely and spilling into his lap. I felt only a slight tinge of guilt, I didn't want to admit it aloud but kicking and hitting him had made me feel a whole lot better.

He then started to write in the snow with his finger and I frowned.

'_Feel better?_'

"Yeah loads" I snapped sarcastically. Every part of me hurt and I had a feeling my back was bleeding from those plates I'd landed on.

Sirius was writing something again and I raised my eyebrows when he stopped. It was a smiley face.

"Did you piss me off on purpose?" I asked and he nodded.

"Un-fucking-believable" I muttered and he pointed to his first message again.

"Yeah I do... thanks mate" I said and he pointed to the smiley face once more before starting to write again.

'_Can we go get some help? My jaw is killing me_'

"Sure... I know just the place" I said.

Twenty minutes later we were sitting on the Lupins old couch. Remus and his father Troy were sitting on the coffee table in front of us. A supply of potions and bandages sat in between them. Remus was working on me while Troy got the trickier task of helping Sirius.

"Where was Lily when all this was going on?" Remus asked picking up an orange cream and dabbing it on my black eye. I winced in pain and he slapped me which made me cringe.

"Suck it up" he said and I gave him a dirty look. "So where was Lily?"

"Not home..." I muttered.

"I still can't believe you did this to each other" Troy said pushing Sirius' jaw closed making him groan in protest. "I know, I know but I can't give you any pain potions with your jaw like that" Sirius just groaned again and Troy pulled out his wand.

"This is going to hurt" he warned and flicked his wand. Sirius flinched and then his hands flew to his jaw as he moaned.

"Better?" Troy asked and Sirius opened and closed his jaw a few times. He gave Troy a thumbs up and Troy grinned.

"Good I can still fix broken bones. You've been so good with your transformations lately Remy I thought I'd forgotten how" Troy said

"More relaxed... it helps" Remus said

"Relaxed? How can a werewolf be relaxed?" I asked

"Maybe he's getting laid" Sirius said with a laugh.

"So quick he is to forget" Remus sighed "And here I thought we had a wonderful evening" I sniggered and Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"You're not actually-" Troy started

"No dad. If I sleep with Sirius it means the end of the world" Remus said and Troy nodded with a sigh of relief.

"But seriously are you getting laid?" I asked.

"James I don't ask if you're getting laid" Remus sighed.

"I'm not" I said and he rolled his eyes.

"I didn't want you to answer"

"Because now you have to"

"Yes but I can also do this. Why isn't Lily staying with you anymore?" he asked and my mouth fell open. I glared at Sirius who shook his head violently.

"That's not fair changing the subject from your sexual conquests to my marital problems" I said to Remus who shrugged.

"You should know better than to try that stuff with me, I'm the best at conversation evasion" he said and started to dab at my eye again.

"How did you find out?" I asked quietly.

"She came here" Remus said and I sighed.

"Did she say anything?"

"No... just that she thought you could use some alone time" Remus said and I nodded. "Turn around I'll get the broken things out of your back"

I shifted from the couch onto the floor and gingerly took off my shirt. It was covered in blood so some of those pieces had cut deep.

"Ok... this is going to hurt..." Remus said.

"Crap" I said and bit my lip to stop from crying out as he pulled a shard out.

"Careful... you might damage his spinal cord" Troy said

"What?" I asked in alarm.

"Dad that's-" Remus stopped midsentence when I screamed gripping the couch. "I'm not going to damage anything James. Suck it up"

"Say that again Remus and I'm going to kick the crap out of you"

"I'd like to see you try, full moon is in two days and I'm quite antsy for a good fight" Remus said.

"What are you going to do about Lily?" Sirius asked.

"Oh yeah because everyone knows let's talk about my failing marriage instead of doing the good friend thing and pretending I don't have any problems"

"James that just made you super arrogant and no one wants to go through that again" Remus muttered.

"Just promise you won't yell at her" Sirius said

"I can't guarantee that"

"She's stressed, she's pregnant and your family is packed into your tiny home. She misses you but if she comes back there's no alone time for either of you. You have to work something out with your family then meet her on some neutral ground to talk out other issues she has with you" Troy said. I looked over my shoulder at him. "I've been married over twenty years... trust me after three years she's got some issues with _you_"

"Neutral ground?" Sirius repeated.

"Yeah, that way she won't feel pressured to agree with whatever your suggesting" Troy said.

"Where's neutral?" I asked.

Lily

I was biting at my nail hopping up and down trying to keep warm. The snow at my feet was soaking my jeans and trainers but the rest of me was nice and warm thanks to the many layers I had on.

"I can't believe he wanted to meet here" Hannah muttered and snuggled closer to me for warmth. I stared out across the frozen lake and shrugged.

"It's where he proposed" I muttered.

"The drunk time?"

"No... the actual time" I said. There was a loud crack and I looked around finding nothing.

"That was definitely someone Apparating right?" I asked and she nodded.

"Maybe we should go" she said quietly.

"Yeah ok" I agreed and we slowly headed around the lake.

There was another crack and I frowned... "Someone else Apparating?"

"Maybe it was the lake? Ice creaks and stuff and the weather is warming up a little" she said.

"Hannah... when you're Apparating you can get stuck in rocks and things right?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, if you're nervous I suppose. I've never done it though I've heard it's fucking painful. Bet Potter got himself stuck in the lake, idiot" she said and I froze looking out across the lake.

"Oh Lily come on he's been doing this for years, that's a rookie mistake"

"You said it can happen when you're nervous, maybe he was nervous about meeting me"

"You think so?"

"Well if he's not in the ice then there's no harm in cutting it" I said pulling out my wand. I shot a spell right into the centre of the lake and watched chunks of ice and a gush of water explode upward.

James popped up from the hole I'd made in the ice and climbed out gasping and shivering.

"Can't you go anywhere without it going horribly wrong?" Hannah asked as we both hurried forward.

"Apparently not" I said hurrying onto the ice trying not to slip over. "Are you ok?"

"Fantastic" he said dryly and I glanced over at Hannah.

"We should get him somewhere warm" I said.

"No... no... we need to talk first"

"James, you could be sick-"

"Lily!" James said sternly, "Get off the ice"

I walked back over to the shore and trudged into the snow stopping beside Hannah. James came over to us dripping wet and shivering slightly. I sighed and held out my wand casting an odd drying charm. I waved the wand slowly over him drying him as if with a hair dryer.

"Thanks" he said grateful for the warmth. He glanced at Hannah and frowned, "What is she doing here?"

"She's my ride..."

"You took the car, you can drive. This is because you don't trust me"

"No... no... I Apparated... with Hannah... Bec has the car"

"Why has Bec got your car?"

"Are we going to fight about that too?" I asked.

"No... no... I'm sorry" he said and I frowned at him then glanced at Hannah.

"He wants you to come home" Hannah said and James narrowed his eyes at her.

"Can I talk to you please? Not you through your friends"

"Hannah... go home... James can take me back" I said. Hannah sighed and shook her head.

"I don't think so" she said

"She goes or I do" James said to me

"You're the one who wanted to talk to me" I said.

"Not when you need her permission to hug me" James said. I groaned and folded my arms across my chest.

"It's too soon maybe you need a little more alone time" I said

"Lily! All I've been is alone... I really don't want any more time with my thoughts right now"

"Your family-"

"Are leeches Lily! They're sucking me dry you have to help me"

"I don't know James..." I said

"Then I'll kick them out. Their houses didn't burn down they're just staying because they're worried about me and mum... but we can do that"

"Can we?" I asked. "Your stressed James and I do get it... but... I don't want to be raising this baby on my own. So I need you to get sorted out now so that you're ready when I come home"

"You're not coming back till the baby is due? That's not till August" he said and he sighed. "If it weren't for that baby you wouldn't come back at all" he put his face in his hands and cursed.

"No... of course I would. I'd come home right now... if..." I trailed off and he sighed.

"Lily... you don't need me. You never have. But I always followed you around at school and I-"

"Oh don't please" I interrupted.

"What?"

"The nice romantic speech. You're so great at them, but if I ask you to do the dishes, or show up somewhere on time... you can't do it. And then I get mad at you and you know that it's not fair, not right now, so you blow up at me... and that's not fair either"

"I don't mean to but we're both angry people" he said and took hold of my shoulders staring me straight in the eye.

"What did you do to your hand?" I asked and he held it up. "Your knuckles are bruised have you been hitting something?"

"Sirius... a little..."

"Unbelievable" I said stepping out of his grip.

"He provoked me"

"GROW UP" I screamed and grabbed Hannah's arm stalking away with her following quickly.

"He said you weren't coming back" James called after me. I stopped but didn't turn around. "He said you weren't coming back and I was in a stupid vulnerable place that made me believe him"

"You should have had more faith in me!" I snapped turning to him.

"Please don't go"

"I didn't do this! You did!" I said and continued on my way pulling Hannah along with me. I stopped by some trees and burst into tears. Hannah quickly put an arm around me and let me rest my head on her shoulder.

"You stay with me as long as you need ok" she said

"I just want to go home" I said smacking my hands into my forehead repeatedly. "But I can't... every time I think about I just know we're going to fight again"

"That's what couples do" Hannah soothed.

"I know but... it makes me ill to think about yelling with him and that can't be good"

"Maybe you're ill because of the human growing inside you"

"No... my morning sickness is settling. We didn't fight like this before"

"You're having a baby and your money is pissing off to satisfy dead people" Hannah said.

"So you think I should go back with him?" I asked.

"Lily, you've always been so strong and independent. No one can tell you what to do. Not even me. James on the other hand... he's always had his parents, telling him exactly what kind of man he should be, he's had you telling him what kind of husband he should be. Now he's got neither and he's absolutely terrified. Sure you fight like crazy but he just doesn't want you to see"

"See what?"

"That he needs you... you don't need him at all. You can function on your own. You know how to... he doesn't and he's the man... he's supposed to know how to"

"I'll go home... later" I said and she hugged me a little tighter.

"Want to go get drunk?"

"Pregnant"

"Oh right... let's go look at cute kitties in the pet store window then"

"Ok" I said.

Several hours later I was sneaking into my house with Hannah following me carrying my luggage.

The house was quiet and I made my way into the hall silently. I took my trunk from Hannah and gave her a grateful one armed hug. She left quietly and I snuck into the bedroom. I put my trunk down and closed the door then crept over to the bed. I sat down on the bed next to James' sleeping form and stroked his hair gently. He rolled over and moaned a little in his sleep. I lay down beside him on top of the covers while he lay under them.

Somehow as if he could sense my warmth he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. I poked his cheek until he woke up, he looked angry for a second before he realised it was me.

"Are you staying or did you come for your salad tongs?"

"Oh did I leave those here, I was looking everywhere thanks" I said going to get up but he pulled me back down. "I'm staying..."

"Good, that's good. Do you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what? I can't hear anything"

"Exactly" James said

"Did you kick your family out?"

"No... they're sleeping but first thing tomorrow" he said and I smiled. I pulled out of his grip and he sat up looking worried but I merely climbed under the covers with him.

"James you have a temperature" I said putting my hand on his forehead.

"I suppose it was falling into the lake that did that"

"Did you come home and warm yourself up before changing and having a shower?"

"No... I went out drinking"

"Oh James..." I said quietly and he smiled. "I'll get you some medicine" I muttered but he shook his head and wrapped his arms around me.

"Why'd you come home?" he asked.

"Hannah talked to me... made me realise some things"

"Can't live without me can you?" he asked.

"No silly, your completely hopeless without me" I said and he pulled me closer burying his head in my shoulder.

"Don't tell Sirius" he said so quietly I almost didn't hear him. I smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Never" I promised.

* * *

I don't know what to say about this one, I just wanted to update before I left. I'm sorry it's short but I kind of panicked... I'll be away till the New Year and probably won't get any writing done. So I'm so glad I got this chapter finished, my flight is in about eight hours so I'm super proud of myself. But hey maybe it's not as bad as I think; let me know what you thought, Penny.


	7. Four Months

What's up readers? I'm so sorry for the delay but as you know I was on holidays. I did bring my laptop with me and there was internet, which was how I replied to your wonderful reviews, but I found that even my scenic view of snow capped mountains did nothing for my inspiration. I had a nice Christmas and New Years; it snowed several times – an amazing thing to see for an Aussie girl like me. I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday season as well.

I'm getting sidetracked, sorry. Yes thanks to my reviewers, mselphabathropp109, softballgurl12327, -scp-, kb1073, FangAxelLover97, kiayame-san, growinghope and Kaladelia Undomiel. Also thanks to everyone else who favourited and subscribed... means a lot! On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Four Months

James

I sat at work trying to ignore the millions of things plaguing my mind. I was worrying a lot. I never used to worry about things. Worrying was such an adult thing to do, worrying about money… that was really adult. Kids don't have to worry about stuff like that…

_Not a kid anymore… nearly a dad. _

That thought made me grimace. I stopped trying to think immediately and distracted myself by looking around the office. Kim was working diligently at the desk next to mine; she had nearly finished her report and had only started this morning. I was nowhere near that ready, I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to be writing about anyway. What was my most recent case… was it the Rollins? No… that had been on the night of a full moon and the next one was pretty close according to a very testy Remus so surely I'd done another case in between then… Lily had been pestering me about something? The case? No… no it was… oh yeah to go house hunting with her next weekend. Next weekend? This weekend? Today…? Crap what day was it? I looked around my desk strewn with papers and wanted posters on various dark wizards. I found my calendar and checked the date. The fifth of March. Holy crap when had that happened? I couldn't really blame myself for not paying much attention. My days had been pretty much the same since the start of the year. Get up, go to work, go to the hospital and sit with mum till I fell asleep and the hospital staff kicked me out then back to work. I only saw Lily when she'd come to the hospital or bring me lunch at work. She had been fantastic even though I made no time for her like a good husband would.

"James?"

I turned to find Lily standing behind me. She gave me a warm smile and held up a brown paper bag.

"I brought you lunch" she said quietly and I couldn't help but smile. I stood up and offered her my chair before pushing some papers to the side of my desk so I could sit there. Lily sat and looked up at me with wide green eyes; she was worried nervously tugging on a piece of her long hair.

"What's up?" I asked

"It's ham," Lily said and I frowned at her. She held up the bag of containing my lunch, "its ham" she repeated.

"Ok…" I said slowly.

"Your mums fine…" Lily said, "The same… you know… and tomorrow… we're going to the realtor. Just to look at what we might want in a house and work out a budget so we can start saving"

"Uh-huh" I said knowing there was something else she wanted to say. I stared at her intently and she squirmed a little under my gaze.

"Ok!" she burst out. "Your mum signed us up for these stupid parenting courses before… before… the first one is next week…"

"Parenting what?"

"You know, those birth classes, where they teach you how to wrap diapers and stuff for first time parents. I mean I've already read every book I could on it but I'm sure a little practise would be fine. Not that you know I need it, women are supposed to be natural with that stuff…" she said this all very fast so it took me a moment or two after she stopped talking to finally nod.

"We can do that…"

"You'll do it?"

"Yeah… I mean… we should probably learn that stuff. I'm certainly no expert I don't even know what to feed them and stuff"

"They're not pets" Lily said

"Well when I asked Remus' dad he said it was like having a dog that slowly learned how to talk" I said and Lily smiled.

"I think I should probably go. Are you going to see your mother tonight?" she asked

"Probably" I said and she nodded with a small smile.

"Ok… well dinner will be in the fridge if you remember to come home before heading to work. I'll see you tomorrow, the realtors, don't forget"

"I won't" I promised and she nodded.

"All right, well enjoy your sandwich"

"Thank you honey" I said and she stood up dropping a swift kiss on my cheek before leaving.

"You are way too lucky" Kim muttered and I just grinned.

"Want half my sandwich?" I offered and she shot me a dark look.

"Yes, though let it be noted I don't approve of your use of Lily as slave labour" she said

"Don't worry Kim I'm well aware this will all soon blow up in my face but there's no harm enjoying it till it does" I said and handed her half my sandwich.

"You're playing a dangerous game Potter" she warned before turning back to her work.

I worked the rest of my day just as distracted as I had been before Lily turned up. I ended up taking most of my work to the hospital with me and worked by my mother's bedside.

She hadn't changed much since yesterday. The flowers the Assistant Healer Wilks had placed in the room were showing more signs of life then mum. It was odd to see her like this; she was much too thin with an awful grey tinge to her pale skin. Her hair, now devoid of the black it held only months ago, was a mixture of grey and white.

"James" a stern voice hissed. I looked up to find the supervising Healer of the ward, an older stern looking woman by the name of Miriam Taylor. "Visiting hours are over, you shouldn't be here" she said putting her hands on her hips.

"And yet here I am," I said and she frowned at me. "Any change?"

"Not since you last asked me, ten minutes ago when I was kicking you out of here" she said and I smiled. I was here all the time so it did feel like only ten minutes since I was last here…

"She will get better right?" I asked Miriam quietly.

"Well that's up for her to decide. I mean there's not much here for her to hang onto" she said and I nodded. If I had the chance to sleep through all the horrible stuff going on I certainly would…

"You can stay for now; don't let me catch you sleeping here again though. The damage you've already inflicted on your spine sleeping in those crappy chairs it's a wonder you can still walk anymore" Miriam said and swept from the room. I looked down at the papers in my lap and wrote a sentence before turning back to mum.

I knew I shouldn't have but I did wind up falling asleep at her side once again. Miriam came in and kicked me out loudly causing a few Healers wandering the halls to chuckle as we went past.

I headed to work two hours early for my shift but I didn't care. I worked diligently through my day and headed to the hospital afterward.

I knew Miriam was going to kick me out as soon as visiting hours were over tonight. I didn't mind, visiting hours ended at ten so I got in a good few hours with mum.

Miriam kicked me out at ten o'clock on the dot and I headed home. Lily was already asleep and so I headed to the fridge. She'd left a note on top of the left over dinner. I picked it up as I reheated the food.

_James, _

_You forgot the realtors today! I understand your working and stuff so I've resolved to just not rely on you anymore; I mean that as gently and courteously as possible. The baby class next week forget it, just work hard! Rake in the dough so we can buy our nice home! Sorry I missed you tonight; I'm just so tired, baby hormones I guess._

_Hope your mums all right and I hope you're not very late because Remus needs you tonight, you probably forgot as well and will go and beg forgiveness tomorrow; say hi to him for me then, _

_Love you,_

_Lily_

_P.S Sorry dinner is crap but we ran out of pasta so I had to improvise, enjoy the cheesy-peas. _

I ate the dinner cautiously, it wasn't bad but I would hopefully never ever have to eat it ever again. I then wrote Lily a note and left it on the bed beside her before heading off to Remus'.

I quietly snuck inside his house and crept over the basement door. I don't think his parents would be too thrilled about my sneaking to hang out with him while he was so dangerous. He wasn't too thrilled about it either even in the safer animal form.

I slipped into the basement shutting the door behind me before transforming into a stag and ambling carefully down the stairs in my four legged form. I only got a bark of warning before I was bowled over by an eager werewolf.

Several hours later, after letting him attack my antlers for most of the night, Remus was retching on top of Sirius as he transformed.

"Remus you could roll off me you know" Sirius said before receiving a mouthful of puke. He groaned and kept his mouth shut till Remus was done. Remus shifted off of him now in his human form, shaky, sweaty and pale but with minimal injuries.

"I was only feeling that while you were on top of me but wow is that uncomfortable" Sirius said sitting up to look at Remus twitching on the floor.

"Mm" Remus replied.

"Nice aim by the way" Sirius said and then spat on the floor getting some of Remus' vomit out.

"Weird... I thought you'd swallow" Remus said. Sirius smirked and I sniggered sharing a glance with Peter who looked slightly confused.

Remus seemed to realised what he'd said because a moment later he was on the other side of the room hurriedly getting dressed.

"He so wants me" Sirius said in a stage whisper. Remus shot him a dark look before walking back over and sitting down beside me.

"You all right? I thought you couldn't move so soon after your transformation" I said

"I can't and will pay for it... now" Remus said and leant over to vomit away from me. I rubbed his back calmly till he was done.

"Oh ew. Is that what I think it is?" Remus asked and I frowned at him. He just pointed so I leant over to look at his vomit.

"You mean the gross bloody furry thing?" I asked and Remus nodded.

"What? Oh wicked gross" Sirius said hurrying over with Peter to have a look.

"I think it's a rat" Peter said and Remus glanced at him.

"But you're all right so I didn't eat you..." he said sounding only slightly relieved.

"Touch it" I said to Sirius

"No" he said

"I dare you too" I said and Sirius grinned then pushed up his sleeve to go and touch it but Remus slapped his arm away.

"Guys! Why did you let me eat a rat?" he cried

"We thought you were just playing. Kind of cute actually, you were so happy when you caught the thing I couldn't bear to take it from you" Sirius said and Remus narrowed his eyes.

"Well I'm going to have to tell my parents..." Remus muttered

"That you ate a rat? Well I'm sure your mum will be fine if you tell her you finished all your vegetables too" Sirius said.

"Shut up! I don't know how many of them I ate and my human stomach can't digest things like that... the bones and the fur..." he said

"Can I touch it?" Sirius asked and I sniggered.

"Come on, I'm sure mum is up right now, maybe she'll make you pancakes... you can poke those to your heart's content" Remus said

"Hurray" Sirius said brightly and stood up. He offered his hand to Remus who eyed it suspiciously and then turned to me. I rolled my eyes but stood up and helped him up. Sirius scoffed dramatically and stuck his nose in the air marching out of the basement. Peter quickly followed after him and I stayed to slowly help Remus up the staircase.

"Morning boys!" Sam Lupin greeted brightly. We all replied cheerfully except Remus who vomited.

"Is that blood? Did you hurt yourself again?" Sam asked hurrying over to Remus. She stopped and leapt back staring at his vomit. "Did you eat something?"

"Rat"

"Oh I told your father to get rid of them... it's all right, I'll clean this up. What do you want to do? Do you want some food or do you just want to sleep for a bit?"

"Sleep" Remus said

"Ok, night then" Sam said and pulled him into a gentle hug. "You all right getting up to your room?"

"Yeah I'll be fine" he said and shot Sirius a look. Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Sam let him go and watched him carefully while he stumbled out of the kitchen. She sighed when he disappeared up the stairs then turned to us.

"It's so good of you boys to be here every morning after the full moon. I think it really helps him through the night, knowing that you're going to be here. He hasn't hurt himself in months it's been so wonderful" Sam said. She bent down to start scrubbing up the vomit but Sirius flicked his wand and it vanished.

"Ah magic, must be nice" she said and Sirius shrugged.

"Pros and cons my dear" he replied and she smiled.

"So, blueberry pancakes all right for you boys?"

"Yes" we all said eagerly and she smiled turning to start cooking.

"So James... how's Lily?" she asked.

"Fine" I said

"Yeah... and the baby?" she asked with a grin.

"Fine too... I think... it hasn't really done anything except suck Lily's tolerance of me away so..." I said with a shrug.

"How far along is she?"

"Just about four months I think... wait... November... yeah" I said nodding.

"Aw... well I wouldn't worry about her crazy hormones now, she'll want to be around you a lot very soon"

"Horny hormones?" I guessed and Sam laughed

"Yes, I couldn't keep my hands off Troy when I entered my second trimester, nearly killed us both when I jumped him in the potions lab" she said and I smiled.

"I don't know... I don't get to see her enough, I'm working all the time" I said

"You're not working right now" she said simply.

"Well no but I was visiting... my mum..." I trailed off and she watched me carefully for a few moments before sighing.

"Oh James you're so young" she said, "Troy was... I was too... so let me give advice, one young parent to another. I mean, I know you'll step up when you need to; it's the kind of boy you are. But... you just have to know... you've got to realise... your baby comes first... not your stupid pride" she said and then frowned at herself, "Um... excuse me for a moment"

She headed out of the kitchen into the hallway.

"I hate it when she does that" Troy said. I glanced over at him leaning in the doorway to the garage converted to a potions lab.

"What?"

"When she's right... family comes first... not a stupid potion for a stupid – uh... never mind just... family is important"

* * *

Lily

I groaned and rolled over. I hadn't spoken to James in days, not since I'd gone to give him a sandwich at work... I just couldn't work up the effort to see him. I didn't want to get mad at him and I knew I would end up kicking him or something. So I left him notes, notes that could be carefully read over to make sure I sounded supportive and happy. Even though all I wanted to do was kick him in the balls and jump on him while he was down.

He left me notes too, much more creatively placed then mine on top of his dinner. On the fridge, on his pillow, even written on the mirror so when it fogged up I could read it...

It made me feel a lot better about not seeing him when I would stumble across one of his elaborately placed notes.

Today the note was in the cereal box. I noticed it before I poured the milk in which was lucky.

_Lily, I know you love cereal on Tuesdays, just hope you noticed this before you poured in the milk._

_Anyway, today is your first baby class, I'm not going to get your hopes up by saying I'll be there as we're raiding Black Manor today – I'm sure Sirius will be thrilled – I hope you do all right and I've been reading every book I can on baby stuff during my breaks so hopefully that'll be enough and I don't need the class. However I know you may be nervous or pissed that I'm not there so I'm sending along one of the Marauders, it's his birthday today so be nice, James_

I sighed and put the note down before turning gloomily to my cereal wondering which of his poor friends he'd roped into this. It was probably Peter, seems like something James would force on Peter, the unpleasant task of watching his wife...

After breakfast I cleaned the kitchen a little then went and had a shower. The class was at eleven and I still had no Marauder. I shrugged and wrote a note.

_Dear Unfortunate Marauder, went to St Mungo's if you wish to come do so, if not I'll cover for you, Lily_

I then headed off to the wizarding hospital St Mungo's and up to their maternity ward where the classes would be. It was only nine-thirty when I arrived but I hadn't anticipated traffic to go so well.

I decided to kill some time and headed off to stare at the newborn babies... they were freaking huge, I started to bite my nail wondering how on earth I was going to give birth to something like that.

"Expecting?"

I jumped and turned to see a woman in her thirties wearing a hospital gown and the clear signs of having recently given birth.

"Yeah" I replied.

"First one?"

"Is it that obvious?" I asked

"Well you look absolutely horrified so it wasn't too hard to guess. It's always scary the first one but it gets easier after that" she said.

"Which ones yours?"

"Guess" she said with a smile.

I looked into the room filled with a dozen babies carefully inspecting each one. I glanced at the woman taking in her kind face, bright blue eyes and flaming red hair.

"That one" I said pointing to the baby with a small tuft of red hair squirming in the bed.

"Very good"

"The hair kind of gave it away" I said and she smiled.

"I'm Molly"

"Lily" I replied.

"How far along are you Lily?"

"Four months" I said

"Oh... and on your own, that's just not fair"

"No, no I'm married" I said and held up left hand to show my wedding ring, "he's working..."

"Ah" she said nodding, "I'm sure my husband wishes he was working. At home with the rest of them right now"

"Oh you have more children? How many?"

"Ron's number six"

"Six?"

"Yes... all boys..." she said

"Wow, I'm going nuts and I've barely got one" I muttered and she laughed.

"Gets easier" she assured me, "So what brings you here today Lily?"

"I'm here for that first time parenting class. My mother-in-law signed me up"

"Your mother should be teaching you those things"

"She's... she's a Muggle... and-" I stopped and Molly nodded in understanding.

"Your mother-in-law also?"

"No, but she's not in much of a position to help me" I said and turned to look back at the babies.

"Want to hold him?" Molly offered suddenly.

"What? Oh no I couldn't" I said shaking my head quickly.

"Come on... it'll be fine and if you drop him I'm very quick" she said and then steered me into the room. I stood beside her as she picked up her son then carefully held out my arms while she handed him over. She corrected my hold on him before stepping back and smiling.

"Almost looks like yours" she said with a smile and I laughed a little. Ron squirmed in my arms and I had to readjust my arms quickly so he didn't fall.

"You're a natural" Molly said and I smiled nervously.

"How old is he?"

"Ten days"

"And you're still stuck here?"

"Getting on in years, it's just not as smooth as it used to be. I suppose he'll be my last..."

"You can have mine too if you want" I said and she laughed.

"It's natural to feel scared. In fact if you don't something's not right" she said and I nodded.

"Lily?"

I turned sharply and found Remus Lupin staring at me from behind the glass of the room. He was breathing heavily as if he'd run all the way here which he probably had.

"Husband?" Molly asked

"Husbands friend" I said and waved him in. "Did you run here?"

"Oh just through the Hospital, sorry I'm late" Remus said.

"That's ok, thanks for coming"

"Yeah well it was my turn"

"Your turn?"

"That came out wrong; I mean it was my turn to do James a favour – that's not right either"

"Remus shut up" I said and he fell silent. I smiled at Molly and handed back baby Ron who made an odd gurgling noise.

"He's amazing" I said and Molly smiled.

"Lily dear, if you have any questions promise me you'll write" she said and handed me her address.

"Of course, thank you" I said and she nodded.

I turned to Remus who held out his hand for me. I took it and let him lead me out of the room.

"So what will James doing for you?" I asked as we walked.

"He promised he'd get Sirius to stop hitting on me"

"Sirius hits on everyone... he made a pass at Dumbledore during the last order meeting"

"That _was_ awkward, especially when Dumbledore flirted back"

"Made me blush..."

"Yes but with me I'm uncomfortable because he's seen me naked and had his tongue in my mouth, on several different occasions, sometimes it was unfortunately simultaneous"

"Ok thank you" I said and held up my free hand.

"Sorry... but he's incessant. He does it to James too"

"The naked thing, the flirting thing or the kissing thing?"

"Well he's done all three but mostly now it's the flirting"

"Yes I know you've each had trysts with him in the broom closets of Hogwarts, James assures me he was very drunk and he was merely curious"

"You're all right with the fact Sirius Black got in James' pants before you did?"

"So did Mary McDowell, Ashley Greenburg and Jennifer Lyons. As for the same sex thing well I'm sure if I'd had a little more time at dating I'd probably have tried girls too and maybe something would have happened"

"Oh Lily you're never allowed to tell a man you'd sleep with a girl..." Remus said and I smiled.

"All right, I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable... I just haven't spoken to anyone in the past few days... I don't leave the house much anymore"

"Hannah and Bec don't visit?"

"Not so much... they're living their lives and mines just so different" I shrugged. "I need to hang out with pregnant people or something but the only one I know right now is Molly and that was her sixth kid I was holding"

"Six? Holy shit"

"Right?"

"Well you'll meet some first time mothers in this class, maybe you can make friends" Remus said and I shot him a dubious look. I didn't make friends very well and he knew that.

"Or you won't" he said and I smiled smugly till he stopped abruptly and I walked into him.

"What the hell Lupin?" I asked and then looked around him to see why he'd stopped.

It was only ten-thirty and the class wasn't till eleven but there was already a couple sitting outside the room. The man looked extremely put out and his pointed face was pulled into a scowl while his wife sat eating crisps and running a piece of her long sleek blonde hair through her thin pale fingers.

"I don't see why I had to come" the man muttered.

"Because it was your penis Lucius no matter what your bitch of a mother says she thinks she saw me do" was the reply. "Now go get me some more crisps I'm hungry"

"Of course my love, I live only to serve you" he said and stood up. I gasped recognising him now, Lucius Malfoy. The woman beside him was his wife though I didn't know her name; I'd seen her around school but she'd been in a different year and house so we never spoke.

Malfoy stopped at the sight of us and frowned glancing quickly between us. Remus was holding my left hand so my rings were hidden. As soon as Malfoy glanced toward his wife, who stared back at him in confusion, I slipped my wedding ring into my pocket. Remus frowned at me but said nothing.

"Mrs Potter" Malfoy said silkily.

"Evans" I corrected quickly.

"I thought you got married"

"Didn't stick" I replied simply. He smirked and held his hand out. His wife took it and rose gracefully to her feet. I glanced at her pregnant belly, she seemed only a few weeks ahead of me, showing through the elegant dress of midnight blue she wore.

"My wife Narcissa" Malfoy introduced.

"My fiancé Remus Lupin"

"Fiancé? When's the wedding?" Malfoy asked

"Soon I hope or you won't fit into your pretty white dress" his wife said and laughed.

"We left it a little late... we're getting married after the baby" I said and smiled at Remus who smiled back though his eyes promised me pain.

"How far along?" Narcissa Malfoy asked

"Three months..." I lied "It happened right after I left James so..." the Malfoy's both nodded slowly.

"Getting any of those joint pains?"

"Yeah, just my hips and back for now... I find tea with a bit of honey soothes it a little"

"Really? Tea with honey?" Narcissa asked then turned sharply to her husband. "Go get me tea with honey it"

"Where am I supposed to find honey in a hospital?" Malfoy snapped.

"I don't _know_ Lucius but you're certainly not going to find it in this hallway!" Narcissa replied and Malfoy sighed.

"We will go shopping later"

"I hurt now" Narcissa said sniffing a little looking like she might cry. Malfoy grabbed her and began to whisper at her. I glanced at Remus who was watching them with a slight frown.

Narcissa burst into tears and flung herself away from him before hurrying over to me. She pulled me into a hug and sobbed into my shoulder. Malfoy was staring at her looking furious.

"He's so mean to me" Narcissa sobbed. I stood awkwardly for a few moments before I started to rub her back comfortingly.

"You know... the other day... he called me fat!" she said and I gave Malfoy a dark look.

"I meant it in the nice way" he said

"How can someone be fat in a nice way?" I asked glaring at him. He sighed and glared at the wall

"I'm sorry I called you fat Cissy, will you come back over here now?"

"No! Lily's nicer" Narcissa said. Malfoy looked like he would hit her, he turned staring down the other end of the hallway.

Remus was hiding a smile behind his mouth as Malfoy tried to calm himself down from his apparently infuriating wife. I bit back a smile to as Narcissa continued to sob into my shoulder. Eventually she pulled away and gave me a small grateful smile before heading back over to her husband.

"Go get my crisps" she ordered and he nodded heading off quickly.

Remus started to snigger his hand still over his mouth. He had to bite it to stop from bursting out laughing. We both stood trying to repress our laughter it was almost a relief when other couples started showing up.

An hour or so later Remus was quickly walking me out of the classroom and through the hospital. I knew he was going to question my lies but he was smart enough not to say anything till we were safely in the car.

"Why did you lie about who the baby's father was?" Remus asked as soon as he'd pulled onto the road.

"Uh... because Lucius Malfoy works for Voldemort and Voldemort only let me go the night of the attack because he thought he was releasing two prisoners. Not three. Not to mention one of those is now the last heir to the Potter family. I had to lie"

"Lily... how did you escape that night? He doesn't just let people go"

"That's hardly important; I'm here now aren't I?"

"Well yes but Lily if you've made a deal or something the Order should know... James should know. He should also know I'm the father of your baby" Remus said and I smiled.

"I'll tell him"

"Everything"

"Everything he needs to know" I said nodding. Remus gave me a look and I smiled back innocently back at him. Like I'd tell James I made a deal with the devil, he'd kill me before Voldemort ever got the chance.

* * *

Oh I'm sorry, it kind of jumps all over the place, I'm just trying to hurry through to the cool parts and obviously it's gonna take a while... I think it kind of shows I'm not particularly interested with these parts and I'm sorry for that but I tried to chuck in some humour and look Malfoys! I've been reading a lot more then writing and have just fallen in love with the badies-turned-goodies family. Anyway, leave a review, tell me what you thought of my plot, my Malfoy's, my grammar or my humour, anything at all actually I'd just be happy to hear from you.

Ah 1:40 in the morning, how surprisingly chirpy you make me... Penny


	8. The Wrong Choice

Hello readers. I apologise for the delay but it's in under a month so I give props to myself. Also sorry it's kind of short.

Thanks to my reviewers, lmurph2592, kiayame-san, softballgurl, Psyche101, kb1073, mselphabathropp109 and Kaladelia Undomiel. Ok, read on!

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Wrong Choice

James

"Please" Sirius begged. I stared down at him; he had his arms wrapped around my left leg so it was quite hard to make it through my day. I was used to his insane antics and simply dragged him about the office. It had been funny at first to me and my co-workers but now it was annoying. Sirius, realising his clinging to me was not working had begun to be me, incessantly.

"Please, please, please" he kept repeating over and over that it didn't even sound like words anymore.

"Sirius" I sighed. He kept going, it was this annoying mantra in my head while I wrote, ate lunch, went to the bathroom, gave Moody a report – basically trying to live my life and there he was attached to my leg begging me.

"Sirius!" I shouted now getting annoyed. I was good at ignoring Sirius, several years at school I had built up a resistance but five hours was pushing it.

"Please!" he cried and I buried my face into my hands screaming out in frustration. He fell silent and I was so happy I laughed. I lowered my hands and looked down at him. He was sitting up now that I'd stopped walking but his stomach and legs were covered in dirt and dust from me dragging him around on wooden floors all morning. His arms still firmly wrapped around my leg as he watched me carefully trying to gauge how mad I actually was.

"Sirius" I said sternly and he stared back at me grey eyes flashing defiantly. He'd keep going all week if he needed to, just to get his way. "Sirius, my only day off is tomorrow-"

"Perfect"

"And I'm spending it with Lily" I finished. He glared at me.

"Lily! You're spending it with her! You can't"

"And why not?"

"Because I need you"

"She needs me"

"Not as much as I do"

"Sirius" I sighed.

"It's Regulus' funeral you have to"

"He's not my brother"

"You cannot leave me alone with that woman James... I'll kill myself. I really will you know I will" Sirius said and I groaned wanting nothing more than to kick him senseless.

"No one is making you go" I said and started to walk. He lay down on his stomach so I was dragging him along.

"I know he's done a lot of stupid things-"

"Like joining the Deatheaters before the age of sixteen" I interrupted.

"Yeah... but he tried to leave, he was just a scared kid"

"Who missed his older brother and resented his insane mother and emotionally distant bastard father – yeah I get it" I said and Sirius whined impatiently.

"I hated the kid too but... James... they didn't even leave a body..." I stopped walking staring straight ahead.

The Ministry had raided Sirius' childhood home a few days ago, hoping for some sign of his Deatheater little brother Regulus. Mrs Black had laughed in their faces and handed over the note Voldemort had given her. Regulus had tried to run so he'd been killed. That was it.

"Sirius you hated the kid"

"I hated Orion too, but I went to his funeral" he retorted and I rolled my eyes.

"That's because the first son has to be at their father's funeral. There's a law about it somewhere I'm sure"

"Blood bond thing compelled me to be there but still"

"'But still' is not an argument" I snapped and he pouted.

"James"

"I'm sorry Sirius, but right now my marriage is a little more important then you" I said. He gasped putting a hand over his mouth.

"How could you say something like that? Oh I knew that red haired harlot would ruin everything"

"Sirius! Be serious. You know my relationship with Lily has been anything but steady since the day we fucking met. Now we're sitting on the rocks and if I'm not careful we're going to crash right over the cliffs"

"Please! This is the last one! I'm not going to that bitch's funeral and I couldn't care less about the rest" he said.

"Fine, fine but I'm bringing Lily and you're telling her"

"What? No fair!" he protested and I shook my head.

"That's my deal take it or leave it" I said and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Ok" he agreed and I nodded.

"Good come over at five tonight"

"Your shift doesn't finish till six"

"You think I want to be around when you tell her? I'm stupid not mad" I said and he frowned at me but nodded. I grinned and he let go of my leg standing up.

"You're a spoilt aristocratic bastard who cannot even begin to comprehend the word no" I said and he shrugged

"It's why you love me" he said and skipped away. I rolled my eyes and went back to work enjoying my now Sirius free environment.

I headed home that night to find Lily and Sirius sitting at the table. They were glaring at each other and stabbing their food not actually eating anything.

"Wow this looks delicious" I said sweetly to Lily and bent down to plant a kiss on the top of her head. "What is it?"

"I don't know... the guy at the butchers assured me it was from a cow. He didn't tell me which part of the cow but it was cheap and it tastes nice doused in tomato sauce" Lily said. I sat down beside her and nodded. She was watching me carefully and so I had a spoonful of the mystery meat.

"Oh God" I said and coughed Lily raised her eyebrows at me, a hurt look on her face. "It's amazing" I assured her and she gave me a small smile going back to her dinner.

"So... you're going to Regulus's funeral" she asked casually. I glanced at her then at Sirius who began to shovel the food off his plate into his mouth. This was a very bad plan because although I'd never say it aloud the food in front of me did not taste very good. At all. It was awful... just... yeah really bad. Sirius seemed to realise this a second later but I did have to applaud his determination. He chewed carefully, not making eye contact with Lily or me.

"Only if you're coming with me" I said to Lily.

"Do you have to go? For work or something?" she asked.

"No... I was going purely for support" I said and held up my hand hiding my mouth from Sirius "he's really needy" I hadn't changed my tone so of course Sirius heard. He shot me a look and continued to chew his mouthful of mystery meat.

"Yes I know" Lily said and Sirius frowned at her but said nothing still chewing.

"You come along too and that way I can still hang out with you like I promised"

"At a funeral?" Lily asked then frowned turning to Sirius "Is your family going to be there?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows then spat out his chewed up meat. It looked the same as it had before he'd eaten it which was disturbing.

"Of course my family will be there it's my brother's funeral. Who did you think would turn up? The London Symphony Orchestra?" Sirius asked and Lily sighed

"The Malfoy's? Will they be there? They're your cousin's right?"

"You're worried about the Malfoy's?" I asked her and she nodded.

"They're Deatheaters you know" she said like I was stupid.

"Yes I know that I do work at the Ministry thank you very much" I snapped and Lily gave me a look.

"I'd be more worried about my other cousins, the Lestranges they'll be there too" Sirius said. "Bella and Rodolphus probably his brother Rabastan too"

"Oh yeah don't go" Lily said and I frowned at her.

"Lily they're not going to kill me in broad daylight, firstly it's stupid second they'll be caught and I don't think Voldemort is too fond of his followers getting themselves locked up" I said and Lily sighed.

"Have you spoken to Remus lately?" she asked.

"No, not since he took you to that class" I replied.

"Hmm... did he say anything about it?"

"No. It went fine right? That's what you said"

"Yeah" Lily said quickly. "Ok you can go to the funeral but promise me that no matter what any of those stupid people say you will ignore them"

"Fine"

"Promise me you will not be goaded into a fight by any of them no matter how they provoke you, no matter what they say about me or Remus"

"Why would they something about Remus?"

"I don't know just promise me!"

"Fine I promise"

"Make sure he keeps that promise" Lily said to Sirius who nodded. "Good"

We all went back to eating Lily stopped abruptly a mouthful later, "Oh my God, that is disgusting" she spat out a mouthful of the meat into her napkin.

"Pizza?" Sirius suggested and Lily nodded shoving her plate away from her.

The next day I set off to the funeral with Sirius. I walked slowly beside him. It was kind of awkward making our way through the sea of Blacks all of them glaring at us as we did so. Regulus' funeral was being held in a little park near his childhood home of number 12 Grimmauld Place. There was no body for them to bury so it was simply a service then a wake back at the house. Sirius would thankfully not be attending that. It was a little safer to be with all these dark wizards out in the open. I didn't trust them behind closed doors and after all Sirius had done to 'shame' the family I had no doubt they'd rip him apart.

We took seats right at the front, Sirius' arrogance refusing to let him cower in the back. I had to admire his guts as he willingly took a seat next to his mother.

"Mother" he greeted politely. Mrs Black narrowed her eyes at him before her gaze shifted to me.

"Sirius, I want to bury my son in peace. Why do you do this to me on your brother's day?" she asked sniffling and dabbing her eyes with a black lace handkerchief.

"Hmm? Oh obviously I came to ruin your day as opposed to paying my respects to the only Black I could stand"

"Obviously" his mother agreed not realising his sarcasm. He rolled his eyes at me and I knew that though this was absolute torture to him he would stick through it. He was strange; he spent his whole life separating himself from his family but would slink back in for something like this.

The service was pretty ordinary; a few nice words from the old wizard conducting the ceremony then Mrs Black stood up and sobbed about her perfect son inserting little jabs at Sirius as she did so.

I tuned her out and glanced around at the Black family gathered. Sirius only had an aunt and an uncle. His aunt had married but had no children and his uncle had three daughters. There were no more Blacks; Sirius would carry on the name if he chose to have children and knowing Sirius he'd change their last name just to spite his parents.

I noticed that most of the younger relatives gathered were suspected as Deatheaters. I could do nothing until they were caught red handed but it infuriated me being so close to them. One Deatheater that caught my eye was Bellatrix Lestrange who stood with a smirk on her face as she stood in the arms of her husband Rodolphus. He too was a Deatheater and managing a lot better than she was to look appropriately grim.

Beside the Lestranges were the Malfoy's. Narcissa looking troubled biting her lip and clinging desperately to her husband's arm. Lucius Malfoy narrowed his eyes when he caught my gaze and I smiled in response.

I turned my attention back to the front and glanced at Sirius who was biting on his nails. He stopped when he saw me staring at him and gave me a charming grin. The grin slipped when people in the crowd started to howl.

"Is that normal?" I asked Sirius and he shook his head.

"They didn't at Orion's funeral; it might be some pretty looking girl they're howling at"

"They'd cat call and wolf whistle... not howl" I said.

The reason for the howling became clear a moment later. Remus made his way down the aisle between the seats ignoring the howls as he walked past.

"Wow Remus" Sirius said when he dropped into the seat beside me. "I know you're attractive and all but you've even got straighter-than-a-nail-Malfoy howling at you"

Remus turned sharply and growled at Lucius Malfoy viciously making the blonde man pause for a moment before he smirked. Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to face the front, the howling died down and he sighed in relief.

"Think they know?" I asked him quietly.

"Of course they do. The howling was from the Deatheaters, no doubt Snape's told them all about my..."

"Furry little problem?" I supplied and he smiled nodding.

"Though..." he said quietly fidgeting a little and looking down at his hands. "It might be... another... thing..."

"What other thing?" I asked.

"Well... when we went to that stupid baby class the Malfoy's were there. And Lily knew that they'd run off and tell Voldemort they saw us. She knew that he'd find out when he let her go he wasn't letting go of just her but the Potter heir. So... so she lied to the Malfoy's..."

"Lied to them about what?" I asked.

"Oh it's so stupid..." Remus sighed and I stared at him. "She said... she told them... she... she said the baby was mine"

"But it's not"

"I know... she also said that you two divorced in January..."

"Hmm..." I said nodding slowly processing this information slowly. "So... I might have to pretend to be mad at you... to keep the ruse going..."

"Probably. She never meant to hurt you James she just doesn't want Voldemort hunting you down because of some stupid power play or whatever... it wasn't the right way to go about it but she did do the right thing..."

"Hmm... I'm going to punch you in the face now"

"What?" he asked in alarm and I quickly snapped my hand back before hitting him in the face. He fell out of his chair and I stood up pushing my sleeves up as I did so.

"You bastard" I snapped

"Me? You fucking hit me you moron!" he shouted. I kicked him while he was down and then frowned while he groaned. I did feel bad... I mean I'd never beaten him up before...

"There's something I'm forgetting" I said turning to Sirius.

"Yeah. There was a reason no one picked on him at school James"

"Because he had us as friends?" I asked Sirius shook his head. "Because he was a Prefect?" Sirius shook his head again vigorously.

All I got as a warning was Sirius' wide eyed stare before I was kicked in the back and sent flying forward into a row of grieving Blacks. They scattered immediately and watched as I rolled over on top of the chairs they'd left behind.

"Big mistake Potter!" Remus growled. I glanced at him in alarm. He was breathing heavily his eyes blazing a frightful shade of amber.

"Oh fuck!" I sighed scrambling up preparing to make an unmanly break for it.

Sirius snorted as he realised I planned to run for it. I made my way through the spectators deciding I could probably outrun Remus if he got bored as fast as his werewolf form did when chasing its prey.

I leapt over a row of now vacant chairs, most of the people sitting in them having hurried out of the way when the fight had started.

I went to leap over another row but Remus grabbed my leg mid-leap and I crashed down. I gasped in pain when I landed rather awkwardly on top of a chair. Remus dragged me toward him with just my leg smirking as he did so. I just knew Remus would kick my arse for punching him in the face. The man just didn't play fair; one punch equalled a beat down...

I was scared for a split second before I remembered I had a wand. I threw a stunning charm at him and he staggered but didn't go down. I hit him again and he fell forward on top of me. I groaned and rolled him off me and sat up.

"Fucking hell Moony, you steal my girl and break my glasses. Arse!" I snapped and punched his arm. He was unconscious so he gave no reaction to hearing me or my hitting him.

I stood up groaning as the places Remus had hit seemed to whine in protest.

"Don't ever provoke a werewolf" I said to Sirius who was staring at me wide eyed.

"We have to go" he whispered quietly. I glanced around and found Sirius's angry family slowly advancing on us.

"Well as you know I'd stay and clean up" Sirius began hastily to his family who glared. "But it's terribly out of character for me so I'm just going to go"

He dashed over to Remus and disappeared with a loud crack. I glared at the spot they'd disappeared then turned to the quickly advancing family and disappeared.

I landed in my kitchen on top of Sirius who was on top of Remus who grunted in protest.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I snapped

"It was how I landed honest!" Sirius said and I looked down. He wasn't naked or on his way to being so, so I accepted this answer.

"Please get off me!" Remus groaned. I slid off and Sirius sat up straddling Remus looking quite pleased with himself. Remus shoved him off and sat up ignoring him completely.

"That was a completely irrational reaction" Remus said to me sternly and I glared at him.

"You told me that my wife 'left me' for you!" I snapped.

"What's wrong with Remus?" Sirius asked

"Yeah what's wrong with Remus?" Remus asked. I gave him a look and he pouted.

"James!" Lily cried hurrying over to us.

"How could you tell the Malfoy's my son was Remus'?" I snapped. She stopped mid-step and then glared at Remus.

"You said to tell him" he said defensively.

"Not like that!" Lily cried and Remus narrowed his eyes at her.

"Lily!" I snapped and she looked at me. "It's hardly important how he told me. I'm angry at why he had to tell me. Are you really so horrified at having my child that you lie about it?"

"No! I did it to protect us"

"_I_ protect us! You don't need to do anything"

"Well maybe if you'd show up once in a while I wouldn't have to!" she snapped. I stood up to glare at her.

"_I have to work_"

"And see your mother every single moment you're not working?" she retorted.

"She's sick. She needs me" I glared

"I NEED YOU!" Lily screamed "God, you're everyone's go to guy! Everyone needs you and you seem to be able to make room for everyone but me. It's not as if I've always been there and you assume I always will. You spent years trying to woo me and now you're losing me you're just letting me slip"

"No-"

"I came home for you. I came back for you! Hannah said you needed me. You lived for me – she was just remembering that you used to. You used to live for me, you used to need me. Now... now..." she sighed

"Lily, come on I'm new to this marriage stuff and I'm new to the parents stuff... just give me a break"

"I've given you so many. So many! When you don't come home, I give you a break. You're working fine. When you miss events, I give you a break. Events you _promised_ me you'd attend, I give you a break. When you make me wait – like an idiot – for you to _show _up at events that you _promised_ to attend I give you a break"

"Lily you know I love you... and I_ am_ sorry."

"No! Before when I left you were sorry. Now you're just an idiot"

"I know. I know! And I'm sorry... just another chance"

"I've given you plenty of chances! You picked wrong! Every single time! I can understand a few times going out with your friends or choosing to stay at your mother's bedside. But not_ every_ time. Not every _single_ time" she said sadly.

"You won't...?" I didn't want to say leave. I couldn't bear to say it. I let my sentence trail off but she understood.

"No..." she said.

"Good. If you're staying I can win you over again" I said. I heard my friends wince. Yes that had been a very poor choice of words and I braced myself for Lily's yells.

She didn't yell, she just narrowed her eyes in warning. I smiled in reply which seemed to make her angrier.

"You didn't 'win' me James. You got me drunk and you can't really do that again" she snapped and pointed to her stomach.

"Ah but you weren't drunk the year afterward when you fell for me" I pointed out and she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I can win you back and I won't ever give you reason to leave again"

"I'm sure you can but you have to earn the right first"

"What?"

"From now on I will not be talking to you. I will not be cooking you dinner. I will not be waiting around for you. I will not be letting you sleep in the same bed. I will be packing a suitcase so that if I choose to leave I can. From now on I'm your wife in name only"

"Lily-"

"You will earn these rights back. _IF_ I see you really trying to change I'll allow you to talk to me again. If you come home three nights in a row you may sleep beside me again. And if you show me that you are going to start putting me first sometimes, I'll unpack my suitcase" she said. "Do you agree to these terms? I feel I should warn you that not agreeing means I'll leave right now"

"I agree... I'm sorry"

"I know you are. You're also really stupid. It's not your fault but I have to fix you" Lily said and then walked off to the bedroom.

"We should go" Sirius whispered.

I spun to face him totally forgetting he was there.

"You!" I snapped and he scrambled away from me. "This is your fault"

"Like hell it is!"

"If you hadn't made me go-"

"I didn't! Listen James you're the one with the problem. If you didn't want to go you wouldn't have. And if you really wanted to be there for Lily you'd have found a way to make it so. If you really wanted to come home early from the hospital some nights you would have. You've never ever been anywhere you didn't want to be. Think about that for a while" Sirius said quietly. He then raised his eyebrows at Remus who was frowning to himself. He looked up at me

"I'm going to hug you now" he announced and I raised an eyebrow. He stepped toward me and wrapped his arms around me in an awkward hug. He patted my back twice before stepping away from me.

"Ok..." he said and then disappeared. Sirius followed a moment later and I was left alone.

I sighed rubbing my eyes tiredly. Of course Sirius was right but I would never ever admit that aloud.

* * *

Lily

I lay on the bed reading a trashy romance novel. It wasn't very compelling but when I'd walked out of the kitchen I didn't think about entertainment. I had to give James some space so he could think over our deal. He would of course no doubt come barging in here with some scheme but I had my wand ready to curse him if he tried anything to rash.

The door was pushed open and I glanced at James before going back to my book.

"Are you really not going to talk to me?" he asked and I nodded.

"But you'll respond to me?" he asked and I nodded again.

"I assume annoying you will not help me cause?" he asked, I shook my head and held up my wand in warning.

"How do I earn talking privileges back?" he sighed, defeated. He'd play the game my way or no way. I flicked my wand conjuring a sponge and then threw it at his head.

"Wash you?" he guessed. I rolled my eyes and pointed to the bathroom door.

"Oh clean?" he tried and I gave him a fake smile showing he'd guessed correctly. He headed off into the bathroom and I smiled going back to my romance novel. My messy hormones were not making this story very easy to read especially when I got to the part where the heroine is finally bedded by her handsome hero.

I winced at a sharp pain in my abdomen. I sat up immediately panicking about the baby; all the fighting was probably not very good for it. Then it happened again and I realised what it was. I leapt out of bed and hurried into the bathroom.

"James!" I said and then stopped to frown when I saw he was lying in the bathtub reading the paper.

"I've been cleaning" he said sitting up, "I was just taking a break"

I glanced around the bathroom, it looked exactly as it had this morning, dirty and cluttered. "Never mind that now, come here"

"Uh Lils, I realise you don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. But the whole 'not talking to me' thing works better if you're... you know... not talking to me" James said.

"Shut up" I said and headed over to him. I snatched his hand and pressed it to my stomach.

"What are you-?" he stopped mid-sentence when the baby kicked again.

"Huh" he breathed and I smiled. "That's amazing"

"Right?"

"So you're talking to me again?" he asked and I smiled sweetly at him before flicking my wand and turning the shower on. He yelped as the water hit him and quickly leapt out of the tub.

"That's mature" he muttered and I smirked at him before retreating into the bedroom.

I'd forgive him. I always did. But this time... no pretty words and presents would sway. No this time... he'd earn it.

* * *

Ah sorry! It's kinda James heavy but I started writing and when I stopped I had like eight pages. I decided to leave them because I have no Lily moments that I really want to put here...

Anyway leave your reviews; they shall make me feel better! The rain has gone nuts in Australia and I was driving home through a crazy storm. My car flooded and so I couldn't get home and while I tried to call my dad for help my phone died – soggy and now useless - Lucky the nice people at McDonalds don't mind soaked girls using their phones and the street I was stuck in has some nice residents, they pushed my car uphill out of the thigh-high waters – It's all ok now, obviously, I got home to finish this chapter but still, not a fun day. So review please! Even if it's to tell me the people up north of Australia are far worse off than me down south and there's no point crying over a car! Penny


	9. The Swiftness

A new chapter for you guys whoo! Sorry if it's late or whatever. But I'm back at school after two years of nothingness so I'm still kind of getting used to that routine so I'm going to blame the badness on my first few weeks adjusting to school life again.

Anyway, thanks to my reviewers, kiayame-san, Kaladelia Undomiel, You're Just As Sane As I Am, softballgurl12327, Rosiline, PrincessDripDrop, Psyche101, KataraandAang1995 and Looz-x-bbz. Also thanks to everyone who added this and the first one to their favourites and subscribed to this.

By the way guys, I'm loving all the different user names (though my spell check isn't) it makes me feel I've been very unimaginative with mine.

* * *

Chapter Nine: That Swiftness

Lily

It was an agonising March and even drearier April. James did try but it took him till mid-April to earn back speaking privileges. The man just didn't sort out his priorities very well.

He told me the night I started talking to him again that Remus had sat him down and slapped him upside the head a lot. I was grateful to Remus and sent him a nice present.

Poor James just hadn't been sure how to go about winning me back which I found odd. When we were at school he had a number of crazy schemes to win my heart, it seemed I'd scared him a little too much because now he was worried about any showy gesture pushing me right out the door.

So he'd done nothing and just let me ignore him. After his chat with Remus though he started to make progress and had earned back nearly everything. He now worked from home whenever he was able and would take me to the hospital with him when we went to see his mother so when he fell asleep in the chair beside her bed I could gently shake him awake. He was giving me the time I deserved, finally, it seemed. I knew his avoidance of me had been his worrying over everything, he wasn't ready to be a father and it was easy to ignore that if you never saw your pregnant wife.

He still wasn't sleeping beside me and I hadn't unpacked my suitcase.

I just couldn't bring myself to let him sleep beside me again, I just instantly assumed that would lead to sex and I wasn't ready for that. Plus sex while pregnant seemed kind of disturbing and I didn't really have anyone to ask on exactly how I'd go about it anyway.

Right now the start of May was settling through and I was hoping that this shitty year would pick up soon or I may actually kill something. Maybe James if he pulls on my hair again. I was sitting on the couch reading through a report for him. He sat beside me trying to plait my hair but only succeeding in pulling on it and knotting it painfully.

He was trying to earn back sharing my bed but I certainly wasn't going to let him if he ripped out anymore of my hair.

"Stop it, it's distracting" I sighed.

"Wait, I almost got it" he said trying to brush out the knots so he could start again.

"You asked me to check it over for spelling and I can't really do that if you keep pulling on my hair" I snapped. He stopped trying to brush it settling for just patting it softly. I rolled my eyes and went back to reading.

"Isn't this all classified or something?" I asked him.

"Hmm? No not this one. It's why they gave it to me and it's why I'm worried about my spelling. If I write like a five year old they won't give me any of the cool cases"

"And they don't mind you taking these files home?" I asked.

"What? No. I'd be doing the exact same thing at my desk, this way I'm with you"

"Ruining my hair" I muttered. James just kissed my neck sloppily making me groan. He smiled and poked my stomach making the baby retaliate with a kick.

"Ow" I said and James pouted.

"Sorry, I forgot he did that"

"He just doesn't like you" I said simply.

"Lils, everyone loves me" James said and rearranged himself a little so he could rest his head near my stomach. There was no denying it, I now officially looked pregnant. No baggy shirts could hide it anymore. I was currently wearing one of my frilly maternity shirts and loathing its scratchy sleeves.

"You're report is fine, now let me up" I said. James had moved so that his head was in my lap and his ear pressed to my stomach. I stared down at him tiredly but he simply grinned in reply.

"No" James said simply and I sighed.

"I'm tired and I want to go to bed. I never realised how exhausting it is being fat"

"You're not fat" he said and I smiled.

"Thank you for the obligatory husband response now let me up" I said. He sat up and then kissed me softly. I moaned and immediately grabbed him pulling him closer for a heavier kiss. He kissed me back eagerly before trying to pull away. I didn't want to let him go, craving his skilful tongue, but he easily disentangled himself from my grasp.

"Wow" he said breathing heavily.

"Sorry, hormones" I said

"Oh, so I've earned my way back into your bed?"

"Not yet sweetie" I said with a sad smile.

"Come on! The couch hurts my back and I've been impeccable since our deal" he said. "You said if I came home three nights in a row you'd let me sleep beside you again. I have been home every night this week"

"Sorry" I muttered and he sighed.

"Fine but you owe me cuddles. I miss your smell" he said

"That's not weird..." I muttered. He leant back and patted his thighs.

"James I've gained like-"

"Get in my lap or I will pull you onto it" he said. I rolled my eyes and climbed into his lap resting my back against his front. He wrapped his arms around me his hands resting on my pregnant stomach. I put my hands on top of his and leant back resting my head on his shoulder.

"I've been thinking" James said quietly into my ear making me squirm. Why did his breath feel so good on my skin?

"About?" I breathed.

"Names, for the baby" he said

"Oh, ok. What have you got?"

"Francis"

"Francis is a terrible name"

"It was my father's name" James said defensively.

"Well he can keep it. We don't want our kid beaten up on the play ground" I replied.

"James then?" he suggested

"Everyone is named James" I sighed.

"Sirius isn't named James"

"Sirius is also a terrible name. Why so serious Sirius? It's awful. Besides can you imagine how arrogant our Sirius will be if he finds out we named our son after him? It'll be unbearable"

"True" James agreed. "How about historical names?"

"My kid isn't going to be named Henry or Merlin all right?"

"I didn't mean Merlin that's just weird. What about from books or something?"

"Legolas?" I suggested and he frowned.

"Oh yeah that's not going to get him beaten up" James muttered and I gave him a look.

"I don't want to spend hours poring through books for inspiration. We'll know it when we hear it"

"And if we don't have a name for him by the time he pops out?" James asked. I slapped him for the crass comment 'pops out'. I wish, no all the classes and the books say that he wouldn't just pop out. He would take his sweet fucking time...

"If we don't have a name then we'll name him after your father or mine..." I said, "Which sounds better Nathan Francis Potter or Francis Nathan Potter?"

"Oh the kid is going to hate us" James said and I smiled.

"We'll find the perfect name, don't worry" I said and James nodded. He started to kiss my neck and I protested, weakly for a second before I repositioned myself straddling him attacking his mouth hungrily.

"Lils?" he muttered as I moved from his mouth to his neck.

"Don't say anything unless it's dirty!" I murmured into his neck.

"Well this couch is filthy" he said and I slapped his arm.

"Shut up" I said going back to his mouth to stop his talking. I moved one of my hands trailing softly down his chest and stomach to his half hardened erection. He moaned when I squeezed and thrust up into my hand.

"Now?" he asked as I stroked him carefully.

"Yes" I said nodding.

"Really? You don't want-" he stopped when I began to unbuckle his belt and hastily undid his jeans. "Awesome" he muttered and I went back to kissing him on the lips. There was too much talking not enough sex.

A loud crack startled the both of us then there was a yell.

"Oh my eyes!" Sirius cried burying his face in his hands.

"What is-? Whoa!" Peter said and Remus just coughed turning to face the wall.

"I'm glad we didn't get to the naked part yet" I said to James who smiled and readjusted himself in his pants before I did them back up.

"Not naked?" Sirius asked looking up at us and seeing that James and I were fully clothed, though a little dishevelled. "Nice hair Lils"

I began to flatten it self-consciously and roughly finger-combed it before tying it in a messy bun. I then climbed off James and took hold of his hand in my own, we both turned to look at his friends.

"You know what we need Lily?" James asked not looking at me.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"A door"

"We have a door. We have several" I pointed out

"And yet my friends couldn't find one to knock on before barging in" James said and I smiled.

"You shouldn't be about to have sex in the living room" Sirius retorted

"Our living room, in our house" James snapped.

"What are you doing here?" I interrupted before the argument could escalate.

"Drinkies?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Any reason?" James asked

"A birthday party"

"You're birthday is in June" James said

"Peter's?" Sirius said

"Is in August" James said and Peter nodded.

"Some random guys May birthday?" Sirius said with a smile. "There will be booze and fun times – sorry Lils no drinks for you. Oh you could be the designated driver"

"James, you will lose points if your dumbass friend doesn't shut the fuck up" I said and looked to James.

"Shut up Sirius" he said

"Good choice" I said with a smile.

"You haven't ruined him have you Evans?" Sirius asked

"Ruined?"

"House trained him?" he clarified.

"No... he can still go and party if he so wishes" I said then turned to James, "I'll just make up the couch for you again tonight ok?"

"If I stay is there any chance of me sleeping beside you?" he asked and I shrugged. "Four beers and I come straight home?" I bit my lip before nodding slightly. He smiled and kissed me softly.

"I love you" he said and I nodded giving him a reassuring smile.

"You can stay" Remus said to him, "We won't hate you"

"No" Peter said nodding

"You don't have to-" Remus started but I interrupted

"Take him now" I ordered and James' friends quickly grabbed him by the arms and hurried him out of the house.

I turned on the telly and flipped lazily through the channels. When I found something remotely interesting I lay down to watch only to fall asleep a few moments later.

I woke up in my bed finding it still dark outside. It was about three in the morning and I was curious as to how I'd stumbled myself into bed. I didn't have to wonder very long because a second later James was carefully trying to sneak out of the room obviously having just carried me in here.

"James?"

"Shit. Did I wake you?" he whispered and I sat up to frown at him.

"No"

"Ok good. I just found you on the couch and thought that it wasn't fair of me to take the bed just because you were too tired to come in here" he said

"James?"

"Yes"

"Stay... please?"

"Sure... do you want me to just sit till you fall asleep or...?"

"No, sleep here..." I muttered awkwardly. I almost regretted my decision when he shot me that arrogant cocky grin of his. Almost...

"If you breathe your alcohol breath on me I'll puke in your face" I warned.

"I thought your nausea was getting better" he said slipping into the bed beside me.

"It is but still"

"Well good thing I didn't drink then"

"Or chewed eighty breath mints God" I muttered scrunching my nose at the overwhelming smell of mint.

"Ok I had one beer but then Sirius puked on me and the cleaning charms weren't making me feel clean enough" he said. I shuffled closer to him and nudged his arm. He lifted it and allowed me to snuggle closer before lowering it securing me in his embrace.

"Can I ask what I did to be rewarded so?" he asked.

"You were good"

"I went out drinking..."

"I didn't mean tonight you hair pulling drunk" I said and he laughed.

"All right I was good. I won't question it. Now about unpacking your suitcase"

"I... I'm sorry. I just... don't"

"It's fine. At least this way if you decide to bolt in the night I'll wake up to see you do it. I may even be able to talk you out of it" he said

"I hope so..." I muttered and he squeezed me a little tighter.

James

* * *

I yawned widely and Sirius snorted across from me sending juice splattering across the table. I sniggered which made him start laughing too. Lily cut me off abruptly by whacking me in the stomach.

"Sirius" Remus said tiredly and Sirius gave him an apologetic look.

"Is anyone actually paying attention to my report?" Fabian Prewett asked, glancing around.

"Well I'm certainly not but that's because I've learned to block out your voice" his brother Gideon said proudly.

The Prewett's tiny flat was filled to the brim with members of the Order of the Phoenix. As the flat was an open kind of plan people were gathered in the kitchen and the living room all facing the two Prewett brothers who stood by the fire place in the living room.

I was sitting with most of the younger members of the Order at the table in the kitchen. The only thing off setting our Order-members-under-thirty table was my old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, the man was probably in his hundreds by now I was sure of it.

"I believed the whole point of the Order of the Phoenix was to bring down You-Know-Who without stupid Ministry restrictions" Fabian said

"It is" Dumbledore said. As the only man Voldemort ever feared Dumbledore was the right man to start up this group and to run it. He was the oldest and the wisest to but also had experience in taking down dark wizards.

"Then when I have information regarding his whereabouts don't you think it'd be important to listen?" Fabian asked

"I was listening, I always listen" Dumbledore said.

"You were cleaning under your fingernails" Fabian protested and Sirius started to snigger.

"They're dirty, I was grooming Fawkes earlier. He gets quite dirty though I don't understand how he barely leaves my office"

"Maybe your office is dirty" Sirius suggested.

"Sir, why did you call this meeting if all we're going to talk about are your fingernails?" Lily snapped from beside me. Everyone turned to stare at her for her rude tone toward the old wizard. Dumbledore merely smiled his blue eyes twinkling softly. This seemed to annoy Lily more and her glare became fierce.

"Pregnancy hormones" I mouthed and Lily whacked me in the stomach making me groan. There were a few sniggers from my fellow Order members.

"You know what helps me relax?" Alice Longbottom piped up and Lily shot her a weary glance. Alice, a nice young woman in her early twenties, was also seven months pregnant and knew exactly what Lily was going through. This meant that nowadays she was usually the only one Lily would listen to. Whenever I suggested something Lily would hit me but if Alice suggested it Lily would listen patiently before hitting me asking why I hadn't thought of that.

"What?" Lily asked

"Sex" Alice said cheerfully. Her husband Frank groaned from beside her and Alice beamed at his reaction.

"Sex?" Lily repeated dumbly.

We'd tried it only twice, the first time we were interrupted and the second time it got a little weird while we tried to work out the mechanics so we stopped.

"Yes" Alice said brightly

"But how with the-?"

"Oh it's easy, there's a book I can lend you if you-"

"OK!" Gideon shouted stopping the conversation "If there's nothing new on the You-Know-Who situation-"

"But there is, that's what I've been saying" Fabian protested

"No you haven't, you've been talking about air fresheners for twenty minutes to see if anyone was paying attention" Moody snapped

"Well you were why didn't you say anything?" Fabian asked

Dumbledore stood up before Moody could retort,

"Perhaps as Voldemort-" gasps went through out the room at the name. No one was exactly brave enough to say it though I did because not saying it meant Moody hit me over the head. Dumbledore politely ignored the gasps and continued on, "has not been attacking every second day we may speak of his last large scale attack"

"We already did that" Lily snapped and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Lily-"

"No shut up" she spat at me and shrugged my hand off. "The man is psychotic, I told you everything and I told the Aurors everything. We don't need to talk about it anymore"

"Lils I get it, it's hard-"

"No you don't get it"

"The man killed my whole family I'm not up for talking about it either. But if it prevents it happening again then we should" I said and then nodded to Dumbledore.

"I think we should all do a little thinking. The hows and the whys" Dumbledore said

"He did it because he thought we were forgetting about him?" Peter said uncertainly, looking around for confirmation on this.

"Not that anyone ever really could" Sirius muttered.

"No, not why Voldemort did it. He is too complex to analyse correctly, we can only make calculated guesses and I do not want to sit and speculate for the moment. What I want to know, what we all want to know is how you got away" Dumbledore said looking at Lily. Everyone turned to Lily who looked at Sirius so everyone turned to him.

"Lily did it don't look at me" he said.

"How Lily?" Dumbledore asked as everyone's attention focused back on the red head at my side.

"I promised him my first born child" Lily said

"What?" I asked staring at her.

"Oh James honestly" several voices admonished and I frowned.

"Lily" Dumbledore said.

"I kicked him in the crotch and we ran" Lily said

"Lily!" Sirius said "You talked you must have said something, done something..."

"I cried. Ok! I bawled my eyes out and he let me go"

"Really? That's it?" I asked and Lily turned slowly to me with a dark look in her eyes.

"I also begged and pleaded" Lily muttered

"Maybe he does like you" Sirius said sounding slightly awed by this. "What are you going to do?"

"Dude, that's my wife. And she will be doing nothing. Right? You won't will you?"

"No James I will not leave you for Voldemort" Lily said and then groaned when I opened my mouth "You are much more attractive and far more charming then he will ever be my hunky Quidditch toned Adonis" she sounded bored but it made me pleased none the less. I pulled her into a lazy kiss which she didn't really respond to but she didn't hit me so I counted it as a win.

"Lily" Dumbledore said and Lily quickly hit me so I'd pull away. I held a hand to my cheek as Lily grinned smugly turning to face Dumbledore.

"What exactly did you say?"

"I'm too young to die... please don't... you know... that kind of stuff" Lily shrugged.

"You didn't mention your baby?"

"No... I thought that maybe if he found out there would be another Potter he might not let me go"

"And you weren't very far along so no Deatheaters would have noticed. That's some good thinking" Moody said

"Oh... thanks" Lily muttered awkwardly.

"Interesting..." Dumbledore was muttering and I frowned.

"How is it interesting?" I asked

"Who else was there that night?"

"Um... the Potters and some Deatheaters" Lily said and Sirius nodded.

"Which Deatheaters?"

"Um..." Lily looked at Sirius who rolled his eyes.

"My cousin Bellatrix, I'm sure her husband Rodolphus was there too they usually travel together and his brother Rabastan is joined to him at the hip so he was probably there as well" Sirius said.

"Anyone else?" Dumbledore asked

"They were all wearing their masks sir it's kind of hard to tell" Sirius replied, "I only recognised Bella because of the stupid inflections in her voice. Seven years of hearing her bitch at you and that voice gets stuck in there pretty good"

"Sev was there" Lily said and I shot her a look.

"Who was there?" I asked and she rolled her eyes

"Snape" she corrected and I nodded.

"Serverus Snape?" Dumbledore said

"Do you know any other Snapes?" Sirius asked

"No I was just surprised"

"Really? The rest of us weren't, Slytherin house has a knack for churning out Deatheaters in case you hadn't noticed" I said and Dumbledore sighed.

"Every house at Hogwarts has its merits"

"Yeah the merit for the worlds downfall good job sir" Sirius said giving Dumbledore a thumbs up. Remus hit him over the back of the head making him wince.

"Ow, that time of the month Moony?" Sirius asked. Remus' eyes flashed dangerously and then there was a flash and a loud thump. Sirius' nose was bleeding and I could only assume Remus had slammed his face into the table though he'd done it so quickly no one actually saw it happen. Remus was casually picking under his fingernails acting like he'd done nothing as Sirius groaned at his side.

"Thank you Remus, but that really wasn't necessary" Dumbledore said and Remus raised his eyebrows

"I didn't do anything" he said and Dumbledore smiled.

"Ah it seems we've lost Lily" Dumbledore said and I looked at my wife who'd fallen asleep on my shoulder.

"Sorry, she's on an off like a light switch it gets so exhausting being a crazy bitch all the time" I said and Lily kicked me making me jump. "Ow!"

"Don't say mean things about me"

"Faker" I said and she stuck out her tongue at me as a retort.

"Perhaps you would like you take your wife home?" Dumbledore suggested.

"I don't want to go back to that torture chamber" Lily said and I stood up hauling her with me.

"She's kidding" I said

"Can we go home? I mean I don't have a wife to take there but I'll take someone else's" Sirius said and Remus whacked him again. "What is your problem?"

"Right now? You" Remus said sweetly.

"Good night sir" I said to Dumbledore not keen to watch Remus and Sirius tear each other apart.

I took Lily's hand and manoeuvred her through the crowd of Order members over to the front door which sat adjacent to the large fireplace.

"I'll send you that book" Alice called after us and Lily nodded eagerly. I quickly hurried Lily out of the flat and down to the car. Lily was not keen on any form of magical transportation because of the baby and lately it was just easier to agree with her.

"Are you ok?" I asked after ten minutes of driving in silence.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" she replied glancing at me.

"Well we've been getting along pretty well recently but today you were kind of trying to eat my head off"

"I'm tired"

"No I get that. But you're always tired now and manage to stay pretty cheerful"

"I'm _really_ tired" she said and I nodded.

"Ok, well you can sleep I'll just... drive..." I said and Lily frowned at me.

"Are _you_ ok?" she asked

"Just thinking"

"About?" she prompted and I could only shrug.

"You're not going to repeat your father's mistakes, I will get a job when the baby is two and your mother will be absolutely fine" she said and I laughed a little.

"How do you always know?" I asked

"Because it's always the same stupid" she said simply.

"Do you think we're cut out to be in the Order? I couldn't help but notice we were all kind of immature"

"I don't think it really counts if the leader was sinking to our level" she said and I snorted

"You saw him flicking those papers at Benjy?" I asked and Lily nodded giggling a little.

"He couldn't figure out where they were coming from" she said and we both laughed. We were then silent for a long while before I spoke.

"Lily..." I started unsure how to continue but she just smiled. Maybe my fears always were the same because she could tell exactly what was worrying me.

"Nothing is going to happen in the next two months ok. You're not going to die at work, we're going to have a beautiful baby boy, we will be able to afford a crib and it's all going to be ok. Everything will be fine" Lily said and I nodded believing her completely. But then you know as it always happens, when she uttered those magic words everything from then on would not be fine.

* * *

I'm sorry! I know it's short and I know it's dodgy but unfortunately I must have these kinds of chapter here. Time must be wittled through I can't just have it jump to many months though I did kind of do that so I'm sorry if it moves to fast as well... I thought of making them fight again but honestly I'm running out of stuff for them to fight about, weird right? Plus I figured I should introduce the Order now so it's not confusing later and then I once again had nothing for Lily to do so I whipped up the name thing, incidentally now my favourite part of the chapter.

Leave a review; assure me that you still love me or something. The next chapter will be better I promise. Got the prophesy scene and stuff to write, hurray! Who wants me to do Dumbledore's POV or shall I just have him telling our young heroes after he's heard it? Maybe Trelawney's POV oh that'd be fun, but just let me know. Ok I think I've rambled enough, Penny.


	10. Not Good

Hello. Sorry for the wait guys but school has been... well school-like as you all know. Thanks to my lovely reviewers Potter's New Girlfriend (confused me a little with the name change there but I double checked to get it right), Looz-x-bbz, mselphabathropp109 and Pixie Black. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Ten: Not Good

Lily

"I don't think you're doing it right" I said and James shot me a look.

"Of course I'm doing it right, I do everything right"

"Well it's not going in" I muttered

"I'll make it go in"

"You can't just make it go in James. If it doesn't fit you can't force it"

"It was fitting perfectly fine before" James said

"Maybe wet it a bit?" I suggested and he looked at me like I was nuts.

"Oh move I'll do it" Sirius said and James glared at him.

"Just let him. He can't be worse then you right?" I asked and James pouted but handed Sirius the hammer and the planks he was trying to nail together.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Remus asked walking into the room.

"Fighting over who hammers best" I said

"Well clearly me right Remus?" Sirius asked and Remus smiled.

"Can I borrow that hammer for a second?" Remus asked and Sirius handed it over. Remus went to hit him with it but Sirius' unmanly shriek stopped him. Remus smirked at this reaction before tossing the hammer to the ground and settling for frowning at James and Sirius.

"It looks nothing like the picture on the box..." I muttered. James and Sirius looked at the partially assembled crib and then looked back at me.

"Did you try reading the manual?" Remus asked

"No" James and Sirius said together.

"Did you try magic?" Remus asked and James and Sirius looked at each other.

"No" they said quietly and Remus hit them both over the head with the manual.

"Idiots. Want me to try Lily?"

"Yes please" I said and Remus nodded reading over the manual. He then scrunched it up and tossed it in Sirius' face before waving his wand. The planks of wood scattered on the floor quickly assembled themselves into a crib and Remus raised his eyebrows at James and Sirius.

"Think you can paint it without comparing the sizes of your brushes or do I have to separate you two?" Remus asked and they both mumbled under their breath.

"Thank you Remus and thank your mother for me again..." I trailed off and Remus shook his head.

"It's all right. Just be thankful she didn't give you one of my old ones, mum would have cried the whole time and just have been generally unpleasant. Even when _I_ went and asked for this one she got all teary saying they'd bought it in the hopes of a new baby brother or sister for me but then I got bit and it was just too dangerous" Remus muttered and I pulled him into a hug. It was slightly awkward thanks to my protruding belly but we managed.

We pulled apart and then watched Sirius and James paint the crib a soft blue occasionally stopping to flick paint at one another or Remus and I.

James and Sirius finished the painting and stepped back to stare at their handy work for a few moments.

"Is this all you needed me for Lils or can I do something else?" Sirius asked and I frowned in thought.

"Um... no... not that I can think of. I mean we did kind of leave it all to the last minute but we've got pretty much everything" I said and glanced at James who nodded slowly.

"Crib, books, toys. We're going supply shopping later but I'm pretty sure that's about it" James said.

"What about clothes?" Sirius asked and James groaned.

"I'll go after work" James said

"I can go" I said

"No" James said and I rolled my eyes.

"James!"

"Lily you are eight months pregnant the only trips I want you to make are from the bedroom to the kitchen or toilet" James said and I narrowed my eyes.

"I am not some fifteenth century woman James! I can go to a fucking shop and buy clothes"

"I'm not being sexist I'm being protective"

"Really? Could have fooled me"

"Lily-"

"If you're not being sexist then I can find someone to take me and you'll relax?"

"Sirius can go with" James said

"Oh a man! I see"

"Lily" James sighed and I smiled. It was fun to annoy him, I felt so fucking crappy all the time he could deal with a little misery here and there. "You're winding me up"

"A bit. But I don't see why you should run yourself ragged just because of a little misplaced paranoia" I said

"Misplaced?" James repeated "It's not misplaced it's exactly where it should be. You can't deny that sometimes you do stupid dangerous things"

"Excuse me!" I cried in outrage. "You wrote the book on stupid dangerous things"

"I did, he just co-authored" Sirius said

"Oh please Sirius like you could write anything" James said and Sirius glared at him. I could sense a fight brewing and I sighed. I'd wanted to yell at James but it's hardly fair to gang up on the guy.

"Sit!" Remus snapped and Sirius and James immediately sat down. "Ok I know why Sirius sat, why did you?" Remus asked frowning at James.

"I like it when you take charge" James said with a flirty wink and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Lily" Remus said turning to me, "I don't have a job or anything if you want me to come with you wherever, I can. I guarantee I'm at least eighty percent less annoying then Sirius"

"I don't doubt that at all but it's not that. It's that my husband doesn't trust me"

"Don't trust you? You've had a packed suitcase sitting at the foot of our bed for over three months. I can't sleep at night worrying you're just going to bolt in the middle of the night and you can't trust me?" he said. I stared at him blankly and heard Sirius clear his throat awkwardly. Both he and Remus tried to shuffle toward the door to leave us in private while I tried not to cry or scream at James.

"To protect myself" I said stiffly. "My husband doesn't trust me to protect myself"

"Oh..." James said very quietly and I nodded.

"Yeah and I think I've established on several different occasions that I'm wonderfully resourceful should I get into a tricky situation" I said and he frowned at me. I gave him a few moments to formulate an argument then just as he opened his mouth I spoke, "No argument? Good I'll go tomorrow then"

"Lily"

"Issue closed now James. I'm going to go make sandwiches do any of you want anything specific?"

They each murmured variations of 'anything' and I nodded heading into the kitchen.

I was halfway through assembling some simple chicken sandwiches when James walked in.

"Hey" he said softly.

"Hi" I replied.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Always" I said and he smiled.

"I didn't mean to be sexist or anything I just-"

"James, pregnant. You should know you're not ever going to win an argument with me at the moment. If it looks like you might I'll crush you to death with my enormous thighs. Actually you should probably realise you'll never win an argument with me because I'm much smarter and prettier than you"

"You are in no way prettier than me" he said and I glared at him. "My beautiful enchanting goddess..." I narrowed my eyes but said nothing.

"I love you" he tried. I threw a sandwich at him which he caught expertly and grinned mischievously. I simply shook my head but was not able to refrain from smiling back. it was just how James was...

* * *

James

"Um... no" I said and Moody glared at me.

"You have to Potter"

"No" I repeated.

"You don't get a say"

"That's the week my baby is due you can't make me go on a mission especially not to... Ecuador" I said frowning at the location highlighted in the file.

"That's a code, you'll find all the necessary information in an envelope which you will only open after you've taken your portkey to the designated location" Moody said.

"I'm not going"

"Yes you are"

"No, my baby is due sometime between the 28th to the 4th I have to be close to Lily. She'll kill me if I miss his birth, I nearly missed my own graduation and my own marriage I can't risk it"

"Potter it has to be you! You're young enough that you can pass for a runaway teen"

"Moody! I am having a baby, I can't go!"

"I'm letting you have the second half of August off to help out around home. I understand you'll need time to adjust but you should know that this is the second you're choosing between your job and your social life"

"Sir-"

"With a job you not only get the satisfaction of locking away dark wizards keeping your family safe but the knowledge that your keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads"

"Fuck!" I shouted and he glared at me but I snatched the file off him. "I'll go but you should know that you're an evil bastard and that the trainee's call you Mad-Eye Doodie behind your back"

I quickly headed home not caring I'd only been there for two hours. I was pissed and now I had to find a way to tell Lily I wouldn't be here when the baby came.

I came home to find Lily sitting on the couch a book propped open on her pregnant belly.

"Hi Lily"

"Hi. So check it, no hands" she said and I smiled at her walking over to sit beside her. She looked back her book and turned the page. "This is a nice surprise what are you doing home?"

"Lily I-"

"Got fired? Oh no, oh no!" she said throwing the book away to stare at me. I still wasn't used to Lily's mood swings. Though Lily got a lot of them even when she wasn't pregnant the added hormones made them flip so fast I had trouble keeping up.

"No! No... no I didn't" I said hurriedly, reassuring her. She relaxed and leant back on the couch staring at me "In fact Moody thinks I should work a case. Try and persuade some runaways back home. They've got some things that might be useful to us so..."

"Ok..."

"I have to go to Ecuador"

"Ecuador?" she repeated

"Well not really Ecuador. But I have to leave at the end of the month..." I said hoping she would say it was ok and that I should go without asking any questions.

"This month?" Lily asked and I could have kicked something. It was like she was psychic.

"Next month" I admitted and Lily narrowed her eyes at me.

"Our baby is due at the end of next month"

"I know that" I said and she frowned at me.

"Did you tell Moody that? He's seen me at Order meetings he knows how fat I'm getting. I look like a beach whale"

"I tried to – no you don't"

"Yes I do" she sighed and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to start pinching you every time you call yourself fat"

"No fair, I'm achy all over, pinching will give me extra owies" she said. I grabbed her face and kissed her soundly. I couldn't help it she was so beautiful and I was hoping to make her less mad with distracting kisses. She swatted me away quickly and glared at me.

"No! I'm mad at you! You're going away when our baby is due... is it just a day or what?"

"A week"

"A WEEK!" she shouted trying to stand up but struggling with her pregnant belly.

"Do you want me to sit on the floor so you can glare down at me?" I asked

"YES!" she snapped. I slid off the couch and onto the floor and she put on her furious face.

"You've been absolutely crappy about this whole pregnancy thing. If you don't want the baby then tell me now and we'll put him straight up for adoption" Lily said. "That way he can still go to a good home"

"Lily I _want_ the baby but I have to work. It'll be tough for the first year but once we work it all out we're going to be the best family ever"

"You won't even see him be born... you've got absolutely no connection to this baby, you won't even try"

"Lily, I loved my life as a carefree rich spoilt brat... I never saw my father except at my birthdays and other things like that. Is it so bad to want my child to have the same easy life?"

"Not at the expense of him not recognising you. I may as well be a single parent if you're going to be like that"

"I will be home from work for the end of August and however much longer you want me to bond with the kid... it's just the lead up to it I have to work. I'm not doing this on purpose you know"

"I know..." she muttered. "I just... I don't..." she paused to sniff and hid her face behind her hand.

"It's our baby James! My first baby! I want you to be by my bedside looking disgusted and trying not to show it while I break your fingers trying to push our child out into the world"

"You will have your fingers to break I promise"

"I want yours"

"Sirius-"

"I AM NOT HAVING MY BABY IN FRONT OF SIRIUS BLACK" she screamed.

"It's _work _Lily. It's not like I'm having a few beers with the guys!"

"Then I'll go talk to Moody, he can't take you from me, not now. Nuh-uh no way!" she struggled to get up but I knew better then to help her in her current angry state. She stood up and headed for the door. I followed timidly wondering if she would actually go yell at Moody or just needed to get away from me.

She stopped in the door of our bedroom and then began to cry. I hurried over to her immediately and she turned throwing her arms around my neck.

"I want my mum" she sobbed and I froze in her arms.

"Lily..." I said slowly and she pulled away.

"I know, I know... they think I'm dead... but I... I..." she sniffed shaking her head.

"I can't get your mum but maybe Remus' mum? Or Hannah's mum maybe? They wouldn't mind"

"James. I don't want someone else's mother I want my own! It's like now that your mum is sick you going to Sirius' mum for a hug"

"Um-"

"It's just not the same"

"I'll say, the only thing that woman's ever hugged is the ground when she tripped, _once_" I said and Lily sighed leaning against the wall.

"I don't want to be without you" she muttered not looking at me. "There was a time when you would have killed to hear those words from me you know"

"I know... but Lily..."

"Just... can you promise me something?"

"Anything"

"Promise it won't always be like this. Once you've stabilised your footing enough in your job, your hours will regulate, and we'll have more money... we'll be happy. Can you promise me that?" she asked. I stared at her for a few long moments before nodding quickly.

"Really?"

"Yes and I'd sooner die then break it. Believe me"

"I do..."

* * *

Sirius

"Hmm... no" Remus said. I tightened my grip on his legs and looked exasperatedly back at James and Lily. Lily had her arms folded over her chest and was frowning at the wall.

"If he doesn't want to then just let him go Black" she said almost sounding bored.

"Yes, let me go Padfoot" Remus pleaded looking desperate.

I looked at James who was silent trying not to incriminate himself at all and decided silence was best.

Lily, in some new kind of crazy fit of paranoia had demanded James round up every woman he knew with children so Lily could go through thousands of scenarios and ask her many questions about the miracle of childbirth. Today it was my cousin Andromeda's turn to talk to Lily. Unfortunately for poor Remus Andromeda's husband was at work so Andromeda would be bringing over her daughter Nymphadora for us to watch. Seven-year-old Dora had quite the crush on Remus and absolutely refused to come over if Remus was not going to be present.

So being the sensible people we are James and I had lured him here under false pretences. Lily had spilled the beans and now the bastard was trying to make a break for it.

He fell over trying to leap for the door and I dived on his back. We rolled around on the floor scuffling for a few moments before he managed to get up. He sprinted to the door before I could grab him and pulled it open.

"Remus!" the unmistakable girlish shriek that belonged to Dora cried out making Remus freeze in the doorway. The little girl quickly latched onto him, arms wrapped tightly around his hips talking at a mile a minute.

"Dora, let the man go, at least hold his hand or something more proper" Andromeda ordered. Her daughter immediately released Remus' hips but before he could move anywhere she had wrapped her arms around his left arm in a tight grip.

"Thanks Andromeda" Remus muttered under his breath and Andromeda grinned a smug little grin.

"Come on Lils let's get this show on the road" Andromeda said and Lily smiled.

"Thanks for taking me out Andromeda; it's really nice of you"

"Don't worry, your hubby is picking up the tab right?" Andromeda asked. James handed her some money

"Go nuts" he sighed

"Oh I will" Andromeda said and then offered her arm to Lily who looped her hand through it and they set off together. I closed the door behind them with a snap and Dora sighed a breathy little sigh staring up at Remus.

"Why is she so attached to you?" I asked as Remus tried to subtly remove his arm from her clasp.

"Perhaps it's my charismatic people skills; it could be she sees I'm not an idiot like her cousin or maybe, just maybe it's because I was nice to her"

"You were. You're always nice" Dora chimed in immediately and Remus smiled.

"Thank you Dora, you're nice to, but you know what would be extra nice?"

"What?"

"You letting me get some circulation back in my arm" Remus said and Dora blushed, her hair going red as she did so. Remus ruffled the short locks and they went bright pink making him smile. We were all used to Dora's unique talent by now.

"Sorry" she mumbled.

"Quite all right. Now Dora, tell me, are you too old for piggy-back rides?"

"Yes" she said as if this was obvious, "But I'm just the right age for hand holding" she held up her hand and Remus took it leading her down to the kitchen. James and I followed quickly and watched as Remus sat Dora down on a chair and convinced her to let his hand go.

"Want a sandwich Dora?" I asked and she looked at me

"A Remus sandwich?" she asked and I snorted.

"Sirius" Remus said sternly

"Oh I wasn't going to make a joke though it really was per-"

"Sirius" Remus warned and I rolled my eyes making Dora giggle.

"Well Remus can make the sandwich for you if that is your preference" I said and she smiled at Remus who nodded.

"Ok" she said brightly. Remus grabbed my arm and dragged me off to the kitchen while James took the chair beside Dora.

"Why did Lily get fat?" Dora asked and James opened his mouth to answer but all that came out was an 'uh...'

I sniggered and turned back to Remus who had started to make Dora a sandwich. He was frowning in thought as he worked and I raised my eyebrows.

"What?" I asked

"Should I just tell her I'm gay?" Remus asked and I raised my eyebrows.

"You're gay?" my hopes soared and he smacked me over the back of the head.

"You stay away from me you bi-sexual heathen" he said and I pouted

"I didn't hear a no" I muttered and he smacked me again.

"She just seems so unnaturally attached" he sighed glancing at Dora who was listening to James' fumbled and child-friendly version of where babies come from.

"Well what's not to like" I said and Remus raised his eyebrows at me. "You're nice... girls fool around with the bad boys but they settle down with the nice guys"

"Oh bad boy Sirius getting lonely?"

"Never. More... curious. How can someone stand to be with the same person for so long?"

"Well you have friends, and you like them right?"

"Yeah but I've already slept with you guys" I said and Remus rolled his eyes

"That wasn't sex" he said defensively and I shrugged.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself Moony" I said easily.

"My point is even after you've had sex with James you still wanted to hang around him"

"I had sex with you too"

"Not sex" he snapped and I just smiled. "You'll find someone you can be friends with and enjoy sex with, that's a relationship. Now can we get back to my potential stalker problem?" he gestured toward Dora who was glancing over every few seconds while still listening to James.

"It's a crush Remus. She'll get over"

"She's counting down the days until we can legally be together" Remus said and I snorted.

"She can count?" I asked and Remus slapped my arm

"This is not funny"

"You're right it's not funny. It's hilarious" I said and turned to Dora. "Dora honey, how many days until you and Remus can legally be together?"

"Three thousand six hundred and twenty-three" she said eagerly and I laughed

"Oh that's fantastic!" I said and Remus shook his head.

"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully" Remus said with a smile on his face very aware that Dora was now staring at him intently. She couldn't hear his words which was quite lucky.

"Now laugh so she doesn't think I'm yelling at you" he said and I laughed making him smile brighter. He headed over to her and presented her with her sandwich.

"Thank you Remus" she said sweetly and he smiled in reply.

"He's going to kill us isn't he?" James whispered to me

"Slowly and painfully"

"Great... well he'll have to get in line behind Lily" James muttered.

"Yeah you are so dumb"

"What?"

"You can't go away when your baby is due you moron"

"I didn't ask to. I told Moody no"

"James... I know you love your job but if you can't even make it to your kid's birth... well you gotta switch careers man, even Healers get time off for that stuff and they work the worst hours for even worse pay"

"What do I do?"

"I don't know. Quit"

"Sirius, you may be fine living on next to nothing and sleeping on my couch when you can't find a hussy's bed to share at night but I have a baby coming. I _need_ money" James said and I shrugged.

"You're dumb" I said and he rolled his eyes.

"You'll be here right. I know she wants me but... you'll help her out right? You and Remus"

"I don't have to actually touch the baby right?" I asked and he nodded.

"I don't think Lily will let you touch it" he said

"A wise decision I think. He might catch my bi and you don't want that"

"No I certainly don't. Not that there's anything wrong with bi's but I find you a repulsive human being" he said and I nodded.

"I get that a lot" I muttered.

"So you'll be there?" he asked.

"For you James when am I not there?" I replied and he smiled.

"Never" he said.

* * *

Albus

I sat in a rickety old chair in a guest room at the Hogs Head bar. It was not a very nice bar but I was here anyway interviewing for a new Divination teacher. After the last one threw himself off the astronomy tower when he found his crystal balls missing. Seer's always seem so temperamental about their possessions. I did need a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher too, and Potions teacher if Horace got his wish to retire soon.

I was cleaning dirt from under my fingernails. It was odd how dirt got under there when I rarely dug with my hands in the garden and washed my beard fairly often. The young woman across from me was talking in a hushed sort of whisper trying to present some form of theatricality. It wasn't really working, it just sounded like she had a sore throat. I should offer her a lemon drop but I only have two left and I plan to eat them both.

Perhaps Minerva is right. Perhaps Divination should just be cut from the curriculum. This woman was clearly a fraud though she insisted she had inherited her 'seer' gift from her famous great-grandmother. She hadn't. She'd inherited nothing at all. Her hair was wild and her jewels on her fingers and throat glittered wildly in the candle light as she gestured frantically while speaking. Though I was finding her current predictions for my imminent death rather tiresome she clearly needed the job so the least I could do was hear her out.

"And then you shall die..." she, Sibyll Trelawney, finished dramatically.

"Painfully?"

"Oh yes, yes it will be quite gruesome" she said.

"Hmm" I said thoughtfully. She stared at me hopefully her eyes, already magnified by her thick glasses, were wide as she watched me carefully.

Be polite, courteous... I reminded myself.

"Well..." I started wondering exactly how to phrase that I didn't think her preferred subject was very beneficial but we did need a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Perhaps she could try her hand at that.

I didn't even get to continue my sentence when she stopped. Her head drooping, shoulders slumping, eyes sliding out of focus behind her thick glasses.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches" she rasped shaking slightly as she spoke "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives"

Her head fell to her chest and she jolted letting out a small cough. I stared at her blankly and she stared back.

"Sir?" she asked

"What did you just say?"

"About your gruesome death?"

"No after that"

"Nothing" she said.

The door swung open with a bang. My brother, the owner of the bar walked in holding a hooded figure by the scruff of his cloak.

"Eavesdropping" Aberforth informed me moodily. He was always moody.

He yanked the hood down off the figure and I frowned at my former student. Serverus Snape sneered

"I was not! I merely took a wrong turn on the stairs" Serverus protested.

"I'll escort him out?" Aberforth grumbled. I nodded curtly and then he was dragging Serverus away in a flurry of black robes.

I turned back to Sybill who was back to big eyed staring.

"You're hired" I said and she smiled brightly.

"Oh thank you" she began to ramble on about how she knew from the start she would get this job as she'd seen it while crystal gazing last Tuesday. I tuned her out my thoughts immediately rampaging through my head.

Thrice defied him... born as the seventh month dies. Oh this was not good. Not good at all...

* * *

You may all hate me now. That was awful...

I know I jumped all over the place but it was necessary to keep it all going. Now to get cracking on the arrival of Harry. WHOOO! YEAH! AWESOME! Ok I'm tired and as you should all know by now tiredness makes me hyper. Tell me what you thought or point out my terrible grammar either way I'll appreciate it. Penny.


	11. The Thirty First

Oh my goodness! I am a terrible human being. I'll give you all my lame excuses at the end of the chapter. For now a lovely thank you to my reviewers, Looz-x-bbz, WeasleyTwin3Some, kb1073, Kaladelia Undomiel, Pixie Black, stuck-in-tv and PrincessDripDrop. Now on with the story!

* * *

Chapter Eleven: The Thirty-First

Serverus

"So we're agreed? Thursday nights shall be our nights for cards?" Voldemort asked and I was wise enough to keep the frown of confusion from my face. He stood facing an ornate fireplace while his loyal minions sat grouped around a long table. I sat among them though separate by an empty chair saved for a latecomer.

The door was quietly pushed open and a black robed figure attempted to sneak into the room.

"Nice try Lucius" Voldemort said before turning to face the straggler. Lucius Malfoy bowed his head and then glided over to take his seat beside me.

"Why were you late? And don't tell me you got lost, it is your drawing room we sit in after all" Voldemort said

"My son-"

"Ah" Voldemort held up a hand to silence him, "The child bride not adapting to motherhood?

"She's sixteen in September" Lucius muttered.

"Just leave the family stuff at home Lucius this is business" Voldemort said and Lucius seemed smart enough to not point out this was his home.

"I have a task for you. All of you – what the hell is that?" Voldemort stopped and we each stopped to listen. It was the unmistakable sound of wailing and it was steadily growing louder. Voldemort turned toward Lucius who lowered his head

"Don't, don't, don't, don't" he was muttering under his breath as Voldemort narrowed his eyes dangerously. The door swung open and Narcissa Malfoy hurried into the room sobbing loudly while the tiny baby in her arms squirmed restlessly crying, not as loud as his mother though. Lucius stood up and strode over to her hissing furiously at her. She shook her head crying and pleading.

Voldemort cleared his throat pointedly and Lucius glanced at him before glaring at his wife.

"What did I say?" Lucius snapped

"Please. He likes you, he never cries when_ you_ hold him"

"Two hours Narcissa. Two hours"

"No. Just... just make him stop please. "

"Go!"

"Lucius, please"

"When we married I your mother didn't tell me I'd be taking care of two children" he snapped and Narcissa whined softly lowering her head, shoulders shaking as she cried. "I have half a mind to send you straight back to her so you can grow up a little. Now go!

"Fine! I'll throw him off the fucking roof" she snapped and then turned. It took Lucius four seconds to realise what she said and he quickly hurried to stand in front of her stopping her in her path.

"Narcissa, hand over the boy" Voldemort said. Narcissa's eyes widened and she stepped closer to her husband away from Voldemort.

"Now" he said in a voice that broke no arguing. Narcissa headed toward him, Lucius following right behind, they stopped in front of Voldemort and Narcissa handed over the fussing baby. Immediately the boy quietened and Narcissa gasped softly.

"Babies sense fear. You my dear in your full blush of youth are more timid then a kitty cat in a thunder storm. Lucius here fears nothing other than a world shortage of hair care products" Voldemort said Narcissa blanched and Lucius tried not to appear insulted "What name did you give him? I hope, Lucius, you didn't name him after your father or yourself. You know how I hate that"

"Draco. His name is Draco" Lucius said

"A beautiful name. It's a constellation, though I'm sure you were of course going for its Latin meaning of dragon" Voldemort said and handed the boy back to Narcissa. Immediately he began to cry and Narcissa whimpered before looking at Lucius. He glanced quickly to Voldemort before relieving his wife of her burden.

"Yes with you two as his parents I'm sure he'll be as fearsome as his namesake" Voldemort said dryly and then reached up to pat Narcissa on the head "You may go my dear" she went to take Draco from Lucius but Voldemort stopped her.

"Can't have his guts splattered all over the walkway interrupting our meeting" he said and Narcissa lowered her head before sweeping from the room closing the door softly behind her.

"I apologise my Lord. She's not well"

"Oh you noticed that too? You should probably look into it before your precious peacocks are eating your son's entrails after one of your wife's outbursts" Voldemort said. Disturbed by the imagery Lucius turned and walked back to his chair in silence.

"Now is there anything-" Voldemort stopped when he spotted the raised hand. It belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. "Bella?"

"Just wanted to tell Lucius to lay off Cissy, she's been through a lot" Bellatrix said

"Oh yes having you for an older sister how terribly she's suffered" Lucius retorted.

"You want to go pretty boy? I'll wreck that face of yours"

"And make me look more like you perhaps? Tell me does Rodolphus like the chin hair or do you just do that for you?"

"All right Lucius, that's enough" Rodolphus said jumping in to defend his wife who snarled at him.

"Serverus?"

I turned slightly to find Voldemort leaning casually against the back of my chair.

"You seem like a smart young man. Can you tell me why my minions are idiots?"

"Uh..." I hesitated glancing from Lucius who was shouting across at Bella and her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan joining in to defend them leaving Lucius with three on one. That didn't last long though when Silas Goyle and Cepheus Crabbe joined Lucius in insulting the Lestranges.

Voldemort was watching me, clearly expecting an answer to his idiot minion's questions.

"Because they're all inbred?" I offered. Voldemort frowned at me for a moment before he laughed.

"They probably are. I'm surprised the last Black sister didn't marry her cousin" Voldemort muttered

"She married a Muggle-born wizard I heard" I said and Voldemort frowned

"I'd have gone for cousin, at least he's attractive" he said and then glanced at me "Still carrying that petty grudge for Sirius Black? Shall I fetch him for you to torture till your heart's content? You have certainly earned it" I shook my head slightly.

"Don't hesitate to ask me for what you want Serverus. Loyalty should be rewarded, now come, there is absolutely nothing you want?"

"I shall ask when I think of it"

"See that you do. I never could say no to you" he said and then smiled as if remembering something pleasant. "Now about that little bit of information you heard before being rudely interrupted... your sure it was July?"

"The seventh month" I said nodding.

"We haven't much time then" he said and stood up straight, he bellowed an order for silence and then he headed over to his place at the head of the table.

"Now, I have a task for you all. The end of July swiftly approaches" he said his face darkening drastically.

"You will go and collect birth records-" immediately whispers broke out and Voldemort silenced them by banging his fist on the table. "I want to know the name of every child born between now and August first. Every witch or wizard born between July twenty-fifth and July thirty-first. I want to know their names every last one of them"

"Every child?" someone asked

"Every child" Voldemort repeated.

"Just in England my Lord or-"

"Anywhere! Everywhere! Every child!" Voldemort cried.

"May I ask why?" Lucius asked

"No" Voldemort snapped his eyes on me again. I kept my head lowered "You and Serverus will watch St Mungo's and any other hospitals you think of through Ireland, Wales and Scotland. You lot will go across Europe" I wasn't looking to where he pointed or listening to where he assigned anyone else. The Dark Lord commanded a lot of followers not enough though to be able to search country by country, they were spread instead over the continents.

"I don't care how long it takes. None of you are to return without a list of names. Any witch or wizard born between the twenty-fifth and the thirty-first of July 1980, is that clear?"

"Yes my Lord"

"Good. Now go!"

* * *

James

"Lily" I sighed knocking on the bathroom door. "I have to leave soon please come out"

"NO! I'll see you when you get home and thrust a baby into your stupid arrogant arms" she replied.

"LILY" I whined banging my fist on the door.

"Just go James!"

"Lily its seven whole days just let me see you for four seconds" I pleaded.

The door swung open and she glared at me. The baby was due any day now and it seemed to be driving Lily mad. If she had her way he would be out of her belly and into her arms already. But my son was taking his time; Potters had no need to hurry. It seemed to drive red heads insane though and that was fun to watch sometimes.

"Good bye I love you please don't die" she said and went to close the door but I simply rolled my eyes and stopped her by slamming my palm into the door. She flinched and stared at me.

"Sweetie, I know it sucks. I will be back in seven days to spoil you and love you and our new baby and... and... and I'm sorry" I said.

"Thank you" she said and leant up to kiss my cheek.

"Remus will take you shopping later today. Don't forget the diapers" I said

"I won't"

"And Sam said you can call her anytime day or night and she'll come running" I said and Lily nodded.

"Ok. Be safe" she said

"Be good" I replied making her smile. "Bye"

"Bye" she said giving me a soft kiss.

I turned and headed to the door stopping to look back at her.

"I love you"

"Go" she said and I gave her a small smile before leaving.

I headed into the Ministry and up to Moody's desk. He glared at me and handed me a can of soup.

"What?" I frowned but didn't get the chance to say anything else before I felt a sharp tug and the world fell away in swirls of colour. A second later I was standing on solid ground again in the middle of a field. There was a tall stone wall over to my left with a white envelope attached to it.

"Better be a fucking five star hotel on the other side of that wall" I muttered. I headed over to the envelope and frowned. _Potter _was scrawled on the front in Moody's messy writing. I yanked it off the wall and pulled the letter out to read.

_There's no hotel you idiot. Turn around and start walking away from the wall. Hitch a lift into town. Find Madame Millie's Baked Breads Bread Boutique and ask to speak to Flynn. Find Flynn; persuade him return to England and join our side. Most important: Don't use magic. And don't fuck this up Potter. Ok?_

Don't fuck what up? This was the vaguest piece of writing I'd ever read. I rolled my eyes and began to walk in the direction he had told me to. The field was just a never ending sea of green. The occasional low rickety wooden fence popped up dividing the field. I stepped over these fences continuing to walk. I came to stop when I found a dirt road. I can't believe he pulled me away from Lily for this shit.

After twenty minutes of standing with nothing to stare at but dirt and grass a truck began to rumble down the dirt road. I stuck out my thumb preparing to hitchhike hoping whoever was driving the truck wasn't creepy. He wasn't, he was quiet and drove me into town with a mere grunt. He let me off in the centre of town before driving off quickly.

I glanced around the town square. The streets were quiet, unusually quiet and though the shops were all open I could see no one inside any of them, employee or customer. I walked carefully along the street reading the shop signs. It took my nearly an hour to find _Madame Millie's Baked Breads Bread Boutique,_ turns out I'd walked past it already. I quickly headed inside the sickeningly over pink shop and looked around.

"Hello?" I called. No answer.

I glanced around. The display case of various cakes and breads looked like it hadn't been touched for a good while. I couldn't help but get the feeling something was very wrong but I couldn't leave till I knew for sure.

I stepped around the counter. Moody had said no magic but I was not going to risk being ambushed. I pulled my wand out of my pocket and carefully edged to the back of the store. I looked around carefully searching for any sign of a disturbance. Unfortunately there were no tell tale 'Evil was here' signs anywhere, not even a helpful trail of blood.

"I'm trying to find Flynn" I called hoping maybe it was like St Mungo's and you had to talk to the building itself.

I was relieved to find it was exactly like St Mungo's. The relief lasted all of two seconds before I fell through the floor. I fell for a few seconds before landing on hard concrete. I groaned and rolled over. It was pitch black. The hole that had let me into this mysterious room was gone and there were no windows or even a door to let in a crack of light.

There was a soft growl from my left. I sat up quickly pulling out my wand as I did so.

"_Lumos_" I whispered and the tip of my wand lit up casting light around the room. I immediately wished I'd left it in darkness.

Blood was splattered all over the walls and there were lots of suspicious meaty chunks sitting around the room. One of the larger chunks looked too human for my liking and I flinched when it moved.

"Crap" I muttered. There was another low growl and I turned sharply shining the light over to a corner of the room. There were five people huddled in the corner. Each of them splashed in blood growling softly at me. Had they all been locked down here and forced to resort to cannibalism?

"Any of you Flynn?"

"He was" one of them said revealing a row of pointed bloody teeth. He was pointing to something behind me and I turned to find a single foot lying nearby.

A hand grabbed me and I let out a not so manly shriek because my first thought was that it was disembodied. I turned around and realised it was attached to someone, that didn't make me anymore relieved though.

My wand was kicked out of my hand and I was held down by four of the people. Three men and one female. The light from my wand pointed at a corner of the room leaving the figures shrouded mostly in shadows. I stared at their faces, their eyes glowing almost inhumanely glinting a soft yellow in the dark. Each of their mouths were dripping with blood and saliva

"Your vampires" I said they all growled and hissed at me and one of them punched my face.

"Vampire?" a man growled from above me. I looked up at him kneeling over me. "Werewolf" he corrected.

"Oh" I said nodding. I would have to remember that not all werewolves were sweet like Remus.

"Yes oh" he snapped and grabbed my neck. "I was going to let you choose your death but now I think I shall rip your smart arse little mouth right off your stupid face"

"Don't you just turn people, you don't have to kill me" I cried and he tightened his grip on my neck crushing it making me choke.

"You're not my type"

"Male?" the female guessed.

"Old" the man at my throat replied. He leant closer, his breath ghosting over my face, a coppery rotten smell making me wince.

The werewolves holding me down positioned me so my neck was positioned perfectly for their leader to rip my throat out. He leant closer and I felt his teeth graze me neck before he pulled away.

"You smell"

"You're not exactly a charming flower yourself" I retorted and he growled in warning.

"Who's your friend?" he spat

"Friend?"

"He's all over you"

"Who? I have no idea what you're talking about"

"You have his scent on you, friend... lover?" he said and I frowned realising what he meant.

"I have his scent... but we haven't spoken in days..."

"No... he's claimed you"

"What?" I asked outraged. That dirty dog...

"Idiot boy. In his pack, you are family and I really don't need vengeful pack leaders after me. So just give me his name and we'll be done"

"No"

"Name"

"No"

"Take his eyes" he ordered and I immediately began thrashing trying to hit any one of them I could. I didn't get much thrashing in; werewolves had far too much strength for me to even fight for more than a second.

"Name?"

"No" I hissed.

"We'll see how you feel after a day down here with dying Dave and mauled Megan" the woman growled. I received another punch to the face, messing my head up a little. By the time I was less dizzy they had gone, my wand gone with them.

Crap...

* * *

Lily

I stood staring at diapers frowning. Remus stood beside me with a book in his right hand. I couldn't help but smile, he was here purely to help me carry things. Whatever he was reading was apparently very interesting because he only glanced up when I slipped something into the basket he was holding in his left hand.

I looked down at the shopping list in my hands. Andromeda had written me a list of what I'd need for a new baby and I was about ready to pop any day now I was glad for the extra help. I grabbed the box of diapers Andromeda had recommended off the shelf and then stopped. The diapers still in my arms and took a deep breath.

"Remus" I said

"Hmm?" he muttered turning a page in his book without glancing up.

"Remus!" I said more urgently and he looked up from his book.

"Lily! I told you no heavy lifting; it's why I'm here" he said seeing me holding the diapers, which really weren't that heavy.

"We have bigger problems right now"

"Bigger problems? What could bigger then you hurting yourself?"

"My water just broke" I said. His book slipped from his hand and his face went blank.

"What?" he asked.

"My water just broke" I repeated slowly and clearly.

"But – but... no... it's too soon. James just left... today! Not even twelve hours ago" he began to ramble and I rolled my eyes.

"Remus!" I cried and grabbed his arm making him shut up. "I need a doctor"

"Right! Of course" he said putting down the shopping basket and taking my hand. "Are you ok?"

"Stop asking stupid questions!" I snapped putting a hand on my stomach as a sharp pain shot through my abdomen. "We have to go, now!"

"Ok, hold tight"

"Remus we are not Apparating in a store full of people!" I whispered and slapped his arm. "Stop being stupid. You're the smart Marauder so be smart. We have to go; I'm not having my baby in a supermarket"

He led me carefully down the aisle and then over to the exit.

"You're going to need a cleanup down aisle nine" he said to an employee we passed. He hurried me out into the parking lot and over to the car.

"Ok, I'm taking you to St Mungo's and then I'm going to call my mum ok?"

"Ok!" I said nodding. He helped me climb into the backseat and then hurried around to the driver's side.

He got into the car and quickly pulled out of the parking space almost hitting the car parked nearby.

"Remus I'm not on fire, you can be fast but be safe, I really don't want to die right now. Though I may change my mind if this – ah gets any worse" I groaned.

He pulled out of the car park and into the street almost hitting a car in his haste. He swerved out of the way and held up a hand in apology to the other car which honked him angrily.

"Remus" I sighed

"I'm sorry, I'm panicking and I don't do well when I'm panicking" he replied

"Well stop fucking panicking!" I cried

"I can't! I do not want to have to deliver your baby it's too weird and I – just... I can't do it"

"You won't have to unless you keep driving like a moron" I said.

He nodded slowing down a bit so he was driving more carefully. We arrived thankfully in one piece and I ignored the fact he'd parked in a loading zone and the car would probably be towed.

"St Mungo's?" I guessed as we hurried along the street towards an apparently closed clothing store.

"Yeah" Remus said and stopped in front of the glass window. He knocked once on the glass and then pulled me through it. We emerged into the crowded waiting room of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injury.

Remus pulled me over to the reception desk where a young woman was twirling her hair around her wand lazily chewing a piece of gum.

"My friends in labour"

"Fill out this form and take a number" the witch said

"Labour! She's having a baby!" Remus snapped she frowned for a second before looking at me and my rounded stomach. Realisation dawned on her face and she quickly scrambled around for something.

A Healer quickly appeared at our side and sat me down in a wheelchair.

"So guys, having a baby?" she asked cheerily. "I'm Healer Cassie and I'm going to take you up to our maternity ward and get you nice and comfy while your hubby here will fill out some forms"

"First, he's not my husband, second I cannot possibly be nice and comfy unless you pump me full of drugs and third if you don't wipe that fucking smile off your face I'm going to tear it off" I screamed.

"She's a keeper" Healer Cassie said to Remus who smiled.

"Lily, I'm going to go call Sirius ok?" Remus said and I shook my head.

"Don't leave me"

"Lily"

"Don't you dare!" I snapped.

"Sixty seconds only, you can count me"

"Remus" I warned

"Sixty seconds" he promised.

"One...two..." I started and he quickly ran off.

I turned to Healer Cassie who was smiling brightly.

"All righty let's get you upstairs"

"If there isn't anything up there to relieve this pain I'm going to kill you" I said and then smiled brightly at her while her face paled.

* * *

Remus

I Apparated into the airy little flat and glanced around. I caught only a glimpse of pale skin before I exclaimed in disgust and closed my eyes. There was a moan then the sound of a loud thump and a squeak.

"Sirius" I said putting a hand over my already closed eyes.

"Hmm? Oh Remus – hi" he said breathily, there was another squeak and a whispered, "Please stop"

"Oh don't be like that Will, I know you love it. We could ask him to join us" Sirius said and I rolled my eyes at the arrogance in his voice. His partner, Will, could only whimper as Sirius continued with the assault on his body.

"Ok!" I said loudly, "Lily's in labour, she's at St Mungo's. I trust you to tell everyone" I didn't wait any longer and quickly headed back through the floo network. I came sprawling out in St Mungo's and headed immediately to the desk demanding Lily's room number.

When I entered the room Lily was sitting comfortably in a bed wearing a hospital gown and the chirpy Healer Cassie beside her checking her over.

"You're three hundred and twelve seconds late" Lily said and I smiled.

"Sorry" I said and she cried out clutching her stomach.

"Where are my pain killers?" she whined and Healer Cassie frowned at her.

"I'll just go get them shall I?"

"Shall I?" Lily mocked giving the Healer her darkest look. Healer Cassie quickly hurried from the room and I stepped closer offering my hand for Lily to squeeze. She grasped and didn't let go the whole time. The whole time. I didn't realise how long labour actually was, I mean I knew it was a long time but it just seems a whole lot longer when you're forced to watch every agonising second. Sirius showed up about three hours in and upon walking into the room screamed and shut his eyes.

"Oh gross, that's enough to put you off women for a while. How you doing Lily?" he asked and Lily just screamed in reply.

"Excellent" he said and walked over to stand beside me. "Well it's a much nicer view from here"

"Where you can't see anything?" I guessed

"Why? What is it?" Lily asked in alarm.

"Nothing Lily it's just we're bloke's... babies and birth, it's just wicked gross" Sirius said

"Oh" Lily muttered.

"Told everyone I could think of. Peter will be here in a few hours and then people will drop by in the next few days" Sirius said to me

"James?" Lily asked

"I told Moody but he says James is out of contact for the next seven days. He'll get him word when it's safe" Sirius said and Lily sighed then began to scream making Sirius jump.

"I didn't touch her" Sirius said

"Contraction" I explained and Lily wailed. She wasn't up for much talking after that and for the next three hour could only sob in misery cursing everyone from James for knocking her up to her mother for not preparing her for this. As the time for her to finally have the baby arrived she slipped into a kind of delirium from the potion Healer Cassie had given her.

Healer Cassie, who had been drifting in and out all day came in to check on Lily's progress, hurried into the room with a team of assistants and a bright smile on her face.

"All right Lily, I think we're ready for this baby" Healer Cassie said and Lily could only nod slightly.

"Ok I'm going to need to push" Healer Cassie said brightly and Lily turned to me.

"Can you eat her? I hate her stupid smiley face" she pleaded with me quietly and I smiled. "No one would miss her"

"I'm not going to eat her"

"Isn't that what you do though?"

"No" I said and she screamed in frustration the hand holding mine gripping tighter.

"Push Lily" Healer Cassie instructed and Lily nodded.

The next hour was probably one of the most disturbing of my life. Sirius out of some sick sense of curiosity and drifted to stand behind the Healers and watch the process. It was amusing to watch his facial expressions and he later told me it was one of the sickest things he'd seen. My transformation from man into beast still rated number one for him because though both involved a lot of blood and screaming in pain but Lily giving birth wasn't accompanied by the sick snapping of bones.

"I see a head, keep going Lily" Healer Cassie soother and Lily cried out.

"One more push"

Lily gasped gave her final push and then flopped back in exhaustion while the Healers separated her baby from her and began a rough quick clean.

"It's a boy" Healer Cassie said handing him over to Lily. He was wrapped in a little blue blanket and squirming, Lily smiled down at him fingers gently brushing at his dark damp hair.

"Thought of a name yet?" Healer Cassie asked and Lily shook her head eyes never leaving her baby boy. She let the Healer take him away to be checked over and then shooed us from the room for some much needed rest. Sirius and I settled into the crappy chairs in the hallway and I ignored him when he snuggled up to me resting his head on my shoulder.

"He's so little" he muttered and I smiled.

"Babies usually are"

"Yeah but, I remember when mum brought Regulus home. He was small yeah but I'm sure not that small"

"Well you were small then too" I pointed out and he nodded.

"But that baby was tiny"

"They grow fast. He'll be your definition of proper baby size very soon"

"Remus?"

"Yeah"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Not really a kissing moment Padfoot and no" I said and he sat up.

"You owe me"

"From when?" I demanded.

"When I didn't want to watch my father die and you made me go into the room and be with him. The condition was a kiss, I never collected"

"It was two years ago" I snapped and he raised his eyebrows at me. "Of course you'd remember that you wanker"

"So?"

"Right now? It's not very romantic is it?" I asked glancing around the hallway.

"Why Moony? Do you want me to romance you first?"

"No"

"Already said it"

"You're a bastard" I said and he smiled. "So when does the torture start?"

"You won't know till your writhing beneath me lover" he said. I rolled my eyes then punched him in the arm.

"Stop being stupid"

"Was born stupid" he muttered and I punched him again. He whined softly but accepted defeat and moved out of my personal space.

"You can be on top, I love when you're feisty" he said. I took a deep breath and counted to ten. No still mad. I turned and punched him in the face.

* * *

Serverus

I stood outside a darkened clothing store ignoring the soft mutterings of the hooded figure on my right. It led to St Mungo's Hospital, that I knew and it would be bad to loiter here but there was no choice.

"Shouldn't we wait till tomorrow?" Lucius asked quietly.

"Shut up" I said and he rolled his eyes

"Just because you're the Dark Lord's favourite doesn't mean you can order me about. Don't forget who got you in"

"Oh I'm sure I'll never forget it with you reminding me every ten minutes" I hissed.

"You may go now"

Lucius just scoffed at the hooded figure and received a gleaming yellow eyed glare in reply. He stepped away and quickly hurried forward disappearing through the window of the shop.

"You have ten minutes" the figure said and I nodded

"Thank you"

"You'll regret it you know"

"Regret what?" I asked and the figure shrugged.

"I wasn't told that. Only that you'd regret it"

I said nothing else and quickly hurried through the window and into the hospital. We had ten minutes to go through unnoticed, Lucius already taking advantage of this fact by tripping several people up and switching the samples on a tray carried by a Healer.

The records were kept according to each ward so I followed Lucius' trail of immaturity past the confused people who had been tripped by a seemingly invisible force.

I was hurrying along the maternity ward but stopped when I spotted to familiar figures lounging in a chair. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, just the sight of them made rage flare up inside me. Black was sleeping, his head resting on Lupin's shoulder and Lupin was reading a book biting at his fingernails and trying to subtly move away from Black making the man only move closer. I knew I should leave it, now was not the time to extract vengeance for their torturing of me in school but oh it was tempting. I turned instead to the door they were opposite knowing of course they would be in the maternity ward for only one reason. I crept toward the door and hesitantly pushed it open. My eyes were immediately drawn to the figure in the bed. Lily Evans was sleeping peacefully, her body showing all recent signs of giving birth. I wondered where her baby was but then shook my head; I didn't want to see it. The by-product of Potter... no...

I turned back to Lily who sighed softly shuffling slightly before settling. I could have watched her for hours but knew I should leave quickly before I was discovered. I tried to leave but couldn't. Simply standing engrossed in watching her until I heard a soft chime that indicated I had a minute left. I hurriedly left giving Black a swift kick as I passed making him yelp and sit up causing Lupin to hit him with the book he was reading and reprimand him.

I found Lucius in the records room next to the stunned witch in charge. He was idly flipping through a magazine.

"Why are you holding a copy of PlayWizard?" I asked and Lucius dropped it immediately.

"It's hers"

"Right. I'm supposed to believe that a woman would bring her lewd magazine to her place of work. They're usually a little more composed, I'm having doubts about you though"

"Just find the records" he snapped throwing the magazine at the unconscious witch. I turned and began to search through the filing cabinets on the left side of the room. It didn't take long to find the most recent ones. They were at the top of the closest filing cabinet sorted by month. I found the section of July easily and plucked it out of the cabinet. I turned to Lucius and we quickly began to pull out files to check the birth certificates. Each one dated after the twenty-fifth we duplicated, returning the proper one to the file so no one would notice anything amiss. I quickly noticed that there was no birth certificate for Potter. There wasn't one under Evans either and I was struck by curiosity. Perhaps the child had died? My curiosity became relief at that thought. It was unfortunate yes that Lily had lost her child but she would be safe and that was really all that mattered to me.

"Is that all of them?" Lucius asked

"Yes I think so. We need to be careful leaving, the spell is over" I replied.

"Careful? I'm not the one who can't resist kicking Sirius Black when he sleeps"

"Oh you saw that did you?"

"No but I saw him and I knew you wouldn't be able to resist temptation, you're so bloody predictable.

"Yes, I suppose I am" I muttered and let him lead the way out of the room.

We headed down the hall acting casual; well as casual as two men could act strolling through a maternity ward. The only way to not be spotted was to be ordinary and we were. We made it past Black and Lupin who were making out though Lupin looked thoroughly displeased by this and was trying to squirm away. Thankful for the first time of Black's horrible lack of morals Lucius and I slipped past them easily and quickly hurried out of the hospital hoping for no more familiar faces. We were safely outside before Lucius began to snigger. I slapped his arm making him stop immediately to glare at me.

"We need to report back" I said and he nodded quickly disappearing with a loud _crack_. I allowed myself a brief glance back at the disguised hospital and the smallest of smiles before I followed Lucius' path back to the Dark Lord.

* * *

I apologise profusely for the long time it took me to update but I was busy! My laptop broke and it was the only place I had this chapter. Oh No! So I sent it to somewhere for fixies and then it came back all nice and with my files all safe. I will never make that mistake again though and now have the files on my laptop and my desktop comp which is all nice and big and safe from the danger of me breaking it with clumsy dropping or spillage. Then I had to study for my Psych exam – I totally failed by the way – and then of course I had to actually finish writing the chapter. So I'm sorry it took me so long and I hope my nice chapter with a little something different will make it up to you. I also hope that the next chapter won't take so long but I am in my final year of school and I do need to pretend to actually do some work so who knows. I'm trying really I am but my fanfics have fallen to the wayside in favour of my original writing and my school work. I am determined though and will never, ever abandon a story! Thanks a lot for reading my rant. Please leave a review, even if it's to tell me to get a move on, Penny.


	12. The Deal

Hello loyal reviewers who have decided I'm not worth your time because of lack of updates but can't get me off their story alert list. I AM SO SORRY. Really I am. But this chapter was so tricky. I had it written but it just didn't work at all and I'm still not completely happy but at least it's going in the direction I want it to. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and let you continue. Thanks to, lmurph2592, Kaladelia Undomiel, Psyche101, 1-Lilith-1, softballgurl12327 and Lillais for the reviews.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: The Deal

Lily

I sat on my bed flipping through a baby name book. My son was sleeping soundly in the crib at the foot of the bed. I was currently on bed rest with Sirius doting on me as James was still away. He had been due back three days ago but had been held up. I was not allowed to worry. Sirius had forbidden it. He had already gone and complained to Moody about James' disappearing act. I would have gone with him but as my body had not been healing very well I was stuck in bed for the next few days. I'd had to beg and plead for the hospital to let me go home, after six days stuck in the hospital I was starting to go a little nuts. They only released me on the condition I had someone to look after me, Sirius had volunteered until James' return and as James hadn't returned he was still here. I didn't mind so much, he had been a lot more tolerable than normal.

There was a knock on the door and Sirius poked his head in.

"Lunch?" he asked.

"Sure" I said wondering what he'd managed to put together for me. Sirius' cooking skills extended only so far to heating up frozen meals.

Sirius walked into the room carrying a tray of what appeared to be a creamy sort of sauce spread over some pasta.

"Its creamy mushroom or something" he said

"Wow, this looks much better than the half frozen lasagne that you forgot to take out of the box I had for dinner last night" I said and he smiled.

"Sorry about that. This Remus made so it's from scratch and free of that cardboardy taste" Sirius said and carried the tray over to me. He gently placed it on the bedside table and turned to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. If I move though, not so fine but a few more days of potions and I'll be back to normal"

"Speaking of potions" Sirius said and pointed to the several various coloured potions I had to take for my healing. "Remember, blue, green and purple before food, yellow with food and the red for after"

"I know, thank you Sirius"

"You're welcome" he said and then pointed to the crib. "How's...? Uh... still haven't got a name for him yet?"

"Nope. At this point I'm probably going to wind up putting a bunch of names in a hat and picking one out" I muttered then frowned. "Oh my God, that's what I should do"

"Well if you're going to do just do it like that I want the chance to have a name put in. I think he should be called Antoine" Sirius said and I frowned at him. "You should get some of your friends to put names in as well"

"Just to lessen the chances of my son being called Antoine" I said and Sirius smiled.

"Antoine is a great name though I still think you should try Sirius"

"Sirius, be serious" I said and he scowled at me.

"Want me to round some people up for your naming party?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I think you should, besides, I should probably tell my friends I had the baby"

"You didn't tell them?"

"When would I have told them?" I asked, "I didn't really get a chance while I was going into labour and then I was at hospital being knocked out and revived and now I'm here"

"Oh yeah that day Moony told me you were in labour and I was supposed to tell people but I forgot to"

"You forgot to?"

"Yeah"

"So no one knows" I said and he smiled.

"You do" he pointed out and I stared at him. "I'm going to get kicked aren't I?" he guessed and I nodded as a smile crept onto my face.

"I'll just go organise that naming party for you. Next week sometime?"

"Sounds good. I'll hold off on kicking you till I'm a little more healed" I said.

"Looking forward to it" he replied with a charming grin.

* * *

James

"Potter"

I winced as a rough hand grabbed my hair and pulled.

"Do you know what I love about wallets?"

I didn't know how long I'd been down in this basement. They'd kicked me around a lot and time seemed to slip by in flashes of consciousness. Right now it was the leader having a turn. He was the biggest and burliest of the lot of them and one of his followers had let his name slip. Fenrir Greyback. I'd read up on him a little when I found out he was the werewolf responsible for turning Remus. He was vicious, attacking children while they were young and raising them as proper little cubs for his pack. Most of his victims didn't survive their first transformation.

"They're so informative, Mr James Francis-Xavier Potter, born March 27 1960. Oh and look this one's got your address on it" Greyback held up a card I couldn't see in the dim light. Not that I'd be able to anyway as my glasses had gone missing. "That'll be handy for later. Maybe I'll just let you go, go back to your beautiful bride whose ravishing picture you keep in your wallet" Greyback paused here to hold up the photo of Lily on our wedding day. "Then I'll just wait for whoever the hell that stupid werewolf is and convince him to maul your face off because you piss me off"

"Then why don't you do it" I snapped, "You kill everyone you come across but not me. It's not because you like me and it can't just be for the mystery werewolf, you've got some clues now you could solve it all on your own and just kill me"

"Well I'm very lazy. As for not killing you, well I've got something special planned. It's the full moon tonight you know. I think we'll have a little fun" he said and delivered a swift kick to my head. An idea seemed to explode in my head from that kick. I felt so stupid for forgetting but Greyback's taunt about the full moon reminded me of Remus which led me to remember about my Animagus form.

I didn't have the chance to attack Greyback as by the time my brain got to the Animagus part of my idea he'd gone. So I sat and waited for nightfall when I assumed they'd come and attack me.

It was several hours later that the door opened to the dark basement and I was more than ready. I head butted the first guy I saw, who was still a guy at that point, not a wolf, so he went down easy with a whack from my antlers. I then clambered up the stairs and out of the bakery. It was dusk, the sun quickly setting. I could hear the shouts behind me and they turned into snarls and growls as the moon rose.

I ran through the abandoned town and headed to the wide open fields so there could be no sneak attacks if they tried to come at me from the sides. There was a loud bang from the left. I recognised the sound instantly. Someone had a gun and I had no intention of getting shot.

I immediately dived to the ground, not exactly sure how to place my awkward deer legs I wound up just flopping and smacking my face in the grass.

My dive had cost me time but a second bang went off and there was a yelp as one of the wolves following me was hit.

I stood up and continued my run, listening as another shot rang out into the night though this one didn't hit the remaining wolves. I took a risk and sprinted in the direction where the shots seemed to be coming from. I just hoped whoever was firing the gun wasn't a keen hunter. If they were, well I'd see them shooting and hopefully dodge the bullets. I had been shot once before and it's bloody fucking painful. Stupid Muggles and their stupid weapons

Bang!

I dived down again, once more smacking my face on the ground. There was a yelp as one of the wolves was hit and I scrambled back onto my feet. I immediately spotted the shooter, reloading his shot gun with shaking hands. He was sitting on a fence in front of a paddock filled with cows that had all run from the sounds of the gun shots.

I approached swiftly and planned to just hide with the cows until dawn but the man heard the rustling grass and quickly fired a shot.

I felt pain flare through my right leg but continued to run even though my leg was practically shattered. I ran past the guy with the gun and he tried to take another shot at me which made me want to turn around and butt him with my antlers but then he wouldn't be firing at the wolves following me anymore so I let him be. I jumped the fence and ran through the paddock of cows, hoping that the wolves would get distracted by the cows and not follow the tantalising trail of blood I was leaving behind.

I ran past a barn and a small little house heading down a dirt path. It led to a single lane country road and I so I ran to it. I hadn't noticed the truck barrelling toward me so when I heard the horn and those shining headlights I could only freeze like... well like a deer caught in the headlights. This led to my swiftly being hit and I could only vaguely register hitting the windshield before blacking out.

* * *

Remus

I sat up slowly. The transformations I had to do on my own were always the hardest. James was missing, Sirius was looking after Lily and Peter's grandmother had gotten sick. So I had braved the moon alone and Moony hadn't liked it at all. I looked around at the remains of the basement. Moony had torn up everything, there were gouges in the stone walls the stairs were broken in various places and apparently Moony had tried to break down the door. My throat hurt from all the howling and I knew I wouldn't be talking much for the next few days because of it. I pulled myself up and stumbled slightly as I headed over to the little safe sitting in the corner where I'd stuck my wand. Though Moony had tried to get in and dented it quite impressively he didn't have opposable thumbs and hadn't been able to work the combination lock. I twirled the dial and pulled out my wand healing the most visible of my injuries so I could make it upstairs and get some potions and salves for the rest. I fixed the stairs with a quickly murmured repair spell and slipped into the robe I had placed into the safe so Moony couldn't tear it to pieces. I then carefully headed up the stairs mindful of my aching limbs.

After unlocking the heavily warded door I stepped into the hall and froze. The boxes of dad's potions experiments had been upended all along the hallway. Broken glass lay all along the hall and half their contents had exploded after coming into contact with other chemicals. The flames appeared to have been hastily put out with carelessly thrown water so the floor was slick with glass, potions and water. My werewolf senses having not fully retreated yet immediately sniffed out the blood. It was mixed in with the liquids on the floor. I followed the trail over to the staircase avoiding the glass as much as I could. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared at the bloody foot prints rising on the steps, they were barefooted and far too large for either of my parents. I noticed a bloody streaked bloody hand print on the wall, the streaks indicating someone had been scrambling for purchase or something. It was small like mums and I grew worried. I quickly climbed the stairs avoiding stepping in the bloody footprints and followed their path. They faded on the carpet of the upstairs hall and I glanced at all the closed doors. I raised my wand and pushed open the door to my room directly in front of me. It was as neat and tidy as I'd left it. I moved onto the bathroom door and quickly pushed open that door. Just as neat and orderly as usual. I bypassed the linen closest as all the shelves inside made it impossible to hide in unless you were small enough to curl up at the bottom as I had been when I was about five.

I stopped in front of the door to my parent's room and then hesitantly pushed it open. Blood was splattered up the walls; the room in a state of disarray, the dresser knocked over and ripped shreds of clothes and pillows on the floor.

On the bed sat my parents. They were tied together, back to back. It was mum who was bleeding; a deep gash on her leg with a piece of glass stuck in it was oozing onto the bed. Her mouth was gagged and when she spotted me in the doorway her eyes widened and she began to whimper shaking her head. Dad noticing her distress turned to me, he too was gagged and he began to frantically nod toward the door, plainly telling me to run for it.

"Oh my God" I hurried into the room and went to mum first, pulling the crudely tied piece of cloth from around her lips. "Mum what happened are you all right?"

"Run Remus run!" she whispered.

"No Remus, stay and play"

I turned slowly to the door. It slammed shut as the man behind it revealed himself.

"Greyback" I said and he grinned revealing blood stained teeth. Fenrir Greyback was the werewolf who bit me, a vile and vicious man who took great pleasure in turning anyone and everyone into werewolves. He liked to go after children the most. I had been four when I was first bitten.

"Roll your wand along the floor" he said. He would be too fast for me to even try anything so I did as he ordered, tossing my wand on the ground toward him.

He limped over to me and I frowned at his clearly broken leg. He noticed my gaze and glanced down at his leg before looking back to me.

"I got hit by a car last night. You'll be fixing that up quite soon" he said. I stared at him. He usually lived out in the wilderness where his pack could be one with nature and all that. For him to make it here with a broken leg was impressive. His human form wouldn't have been able to do it considering how far away he'd probably been staying, not with an injured leg. So it must have been his wolf form determined to get to me. I frowned, what would bring his wolf form here?

"Oh will I?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, if you don't want mummy or daddy to be sharing the basement with you next moon"

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"Good boy. I always liked you Remus, such a quick learner, so good at adapting" Greyback said.

"After the last time you promised-" I started but he cut across me

"I promised I'd let you go Remus, I didn't say anything about leaving you gone or not coming after you" Greyback said and I looked down at the ground. "Your friend killed my pack"

I knew my mouth had fallen open. Killing a werewolf's pack was equal to murdering someone's family. Fenrir Greyback was not one for forgiveness and so would probably swear a vendetta against whoever did it.

"Which friend?" I asked

"James Potter" Greyback spat

"You know James Potter?"

"Yes and I know where he is" Greyback said and slipped an arm around my shoulders pulling me to his side. He leaned in close so I could feel his breath on my cheek. It smelled of old blood and rotting flesh he hadn't properly cleaned from his teeth.

"I'm not unreasonable. You're father here knows I like to make deals perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement" Greyback said.

"What kind of deal?"

"Well, I'll tell you where your friend is, let him off for killing my pack and let your family go"

"No strings?"

"Strings?"

"No coming back for them or him later because you didn't agree to leave them gone or not follow or whatever"

"Yes. None of those strings, I won't come after James Potter or his family and I won't come after yours"

"Well for all that you must be working up to a pretty big price. So how much do you want?" I asked

"All of you will do"

"What?" I asked.

"Your friend is the reason I don't have a pack, you will help me start my new one. I don't think you're really Beta material but you can be my mate"

"Um... no thank you" I said staring at him like he was nuts.

"Come now Remus, I lifetime of rolling over on your back for your family and friends safety? Not that big a price I don't think" Greyback said and I shook my head.

"No deal. I'll find James on my own and move my parents as far away from you as I need to"

"You can't protect them forever, besides if you're living with me you can stop me from attacking people"

"How are you going to make a new pack without making new werewolves?"

"Well I'll only stop if you want me to" he said and put his other hand on my shoulder turning me to face him. I was quite tall, well over six feet thanks to snapping my bones in and out of place every month for over fifteen years helping the growing process. I was over six feet before my fourteenth birthday. It had been awkward at school till around my seventh year when I was near a more normal height but still the tallest in my year.

Fenrir Greyback on the other hand was taller than me forcing me to tilt my head back to look up at him. He was built, all muscles and strength from years as a werewolf and living that sort of lifestyle even in his human form. He was nearly triple my thin body and covered in hair his eyes bright and his long mattered hair dark and greying.

"I'm not going with you"

"No?"

"No"

"Fine, then just heal my leg and I'll be gone"

"No"

"No!" he barked gripping my shoulders painfully with his large hands, claw-like-nails digging into my back.

"Remus, you're pushing it. I haven't killed your parents I didn't even bite them. The worst that happened was a few bruises and your mothers cut leg when she tripped on a box and cut her leg on a broken potion bottle"

"Fine! Fine, but you let them go and then I'll heal you" I said and Greyback gave a brief nod. I turned to my parents and began to untie the ropes on them.

"Remus no" mum said shaking her head.

"He can't turn me again mum it's fine" I assured her. Dad said nothing as I untied him. He stood carefully and came around the bed to help mum stand up.

"One hour" he said to me and I nodded. He patted my head before gripping mum tightly and Disapparating.

I turned to Greyback who sat down on the bed with a feral grin on his face. He handed me my wand and then indicated to the floor. I knelt down before him and pushed up the leg on his pants to inspect his injury. I was glad the break was in his calf not higher up or I'd have to have removed his pants and his grin was already a little too smug for my liking.

"So did Lily have her baby yet?" he asked. I looked up at him.

"How-?

"Potter and I got to talking" Greyback said and handed me a wallet. I flipped it open, it was James' wallet. There was a picture of him and Lily from their wedding day and another one taken more recently of Lily heavily pregnant and trying to shoo away whoever had taken the photo, probably James.

"You know his address is in there too" Greyback said and I let my gaze fall to his leg. "Just didn't want you to get any funny ideas"

"Ok"

"Ok what Remus?"

"I'll go with you" I said quietly, not daring to look up at him.

"Oh you will? I'm so glad"

"And you'll leave them alone, the Potters and my parents?" I asked. His hand flew to my hair gripping tightly.

"You hurt my feelings when you said no the first time. But I'm sure you'll find a way to earn back their safety" he gripped my hair tighter and pulled my head back exposing my neck. He leant in close and just sniffed at my neck. I screwed my eyes shut and tried not to pull away from him.

"Maybe we should get going?" I asked and cried out when he bit my neck. Wolves did it to show their dominance, I was not the one making decisions. I whined softly to show my submission and he released me.

"See how quick you learn? You'll be brilliant" he said and sat back. I frowned at him for a moment wondering if I wanted to push my luck.

"Can I say goodbye?" I asked quietly.

"Goodbye seems so final" he said sounding pleased. I nodded and he grinned. "Of course then pup" and he patted my head.

* * *

Sirius

I stood beside my cousin Andromeda watching as she held onto the back of her daughters party dress to stop the pink-haired girl running off.

Lily was having her 'Baby-Naming Party' as she'd dubbed it. She had invited most of the Order, insisting it was the best way to get a wide variety of names. So everyone was crammed into Lily's tiny home, mingling and occasionally writing down a name and dropping it in upside down hat that the baby's name would be chosen from.

The only two people not here were James, for reasons that couldn't be helped, and Remus. The full moon had been last night and I knew he was probably exhausted as he'd had to face it alone but he would fight to get here.

"Missing your boyfriend?" Andy asked me while sipping on her drink.

"Shut up" I said. The doorbell rang and I practically bowled Andy over in my haste to get to it. I could hear her laughter as I hurried to the door.

I pulled it open to find a very tired and miserable looking Remus. He took one look at me and leapt. I cried out in surprise as he latched onto me, hugging me fiercely.

"Well hello to you too" I said hugging him back. I went to pull away but he would only release me to arms length.

"You know I love you right?" he asked and I felt my mouth drop open.

"Remus you can't say those things to me, I'll drop you on the floor and mount you right here in the doorway" I said with a smile. I slipped my arm around his waist and kicked the door shut leading him into the party.

"Oh Remus!" Lily cried hurrying forward. She pulled him into a hug, which he returned with a lot of enthusiasm, lifting her in the air and twirling around with her before depositing her back on her feet.

"That's quite a greeting" Lily said putting a hand to her chest.

"Just really happy to see you" Remus said and Lily smiled.

"You're so sweet. I'm glad you came" she said

"I can't stay long" he said quietly and Lily waved a hand at him.

"No of course not, you look dead on your feet, promise me you'll go home and sleep"

"Sure" Remus said and Lily smiled.

"Ok" she then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from Remus with a smile. Remus opened his mouth to protest but had spotted Peter and immediately hurried over to hug him. Peter squeaked and dropped his drink in surprise at Remus' sudden need for human contact.

"What did you do to him?" Lily hissed as she led me to the kitchen area.

"Nothing" I said and Lily glared at me. "Really nothing. He doesn't like to be touched and certainly won't initiate the touch himself. I'm as surprised as you"

Lily narrowed her eyes in warning before stalking away to play perfect hostess.

I headed over to where Remus and Peter were talking.

"You're a really great guy Peter" Remus was saying as I approached.

"Oh thanks Remus" Peter said sounding confused. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows in question but I could only shrug.

"No really, I don't know what I would have done at school if I didn't have someone so kind around. James and Sirius' egos would have probably killed me" Remus said and Peter sniggered.

"Ok Remus" he said and patted Remus' shoulder. Remus smiled at him and then turned to hug Alice Longbottom who gasped in surprise.

"Ok what is wrong with him?" Peter asked me.

"Maybe Moony ate his brain cells or something?"

"That or he's totally fucking high right now. He's hugging Mad-Eye Moody look!" Peter said. Remus was indeed hugging the crabby old Auror whose eyebrow was twitching as he restrained himself from kicking Remus' arse. Remus quickly moved on hugging Lily's friend Hannah who grinned and wrapped her arms around him.

I headed over to the couch where my old headmaster Albus Dumbledore had made himself quite comfortable, in his arms were babies Potter and Longbottom. Though Lily and James' son had no name yet the Longbottoms had named their son Neville. Neville was currently amusing himself by tugging on Dumbledore's long beard while baby Potter watched with big green eyes giggling happily. I sat down on the other end of the couch and took Neville from him, spending a few moments detangling the little fist from the poor man's beard.

Frank Longbottom came along soon after and relieved me of Neville who seemed to like pulling hair. Because I was massaging my sore scalp I didn't notice Remus approaching until he had flopped down on top of me.

"Ow, dude I know you're pretty thin but you can't just jump on people like that" I said and he gave me a small smile before shifting a little so he was sitting in between Dumbledore and me. He nestled close to me resting his head on my shoulder and settled in comfortably.

Bec walked by and gave me a dirty look as she offered Dumbledore some carrot cake. Bec and Hannah were made at me for not telling them Lily had her baby and had decided to simply glare at me the whole day as opposed to yelling. I liked this option a lot, though not when Bec offered me some carrot cake and shoved it in my face after I agreed.

Lily, who had witnessed this along with everyone else, gave Bec and Hannah a talking to before assigning them to hold her son.

Remus offered a sympathetic smile and helped me clean my face while trying to hide his snickers.

"You look like you're having fun" Andy said as she sat down on the armchair adjacent to the couch and pulled her daughter into her lap. Dora protested for only a second, quickly silenced by the slice of cake her mother shoved under her nose which she immediately began to devour.

"Loads of fun" I said as Remus finished wiping off my face.

"Hi Remus" Dora said brightly.

"Hello Nymphadora" Remus said, offering a weary smile and she glanced at me.

"Is he sick?" she asked

"Little bit" I said and she smiled.

"Do you want my cake? Cake always makes me feel better" she offered. I glanced at Remus who sat up a little straighter and accepted the half eaten cake graciously. He took it off the plate and then shoved it into my face using his hand to rub it in. Dora immediately burst into a fit of giggles while Dumbledore chuckled and Andy smirked.

"Thank you Dora that did make me feel better" Remus said as I wiped my face with a napkin.

"Anything for you Remus" she said dreamily and then hopped off her mother's lap to get more cake.

"No word on James yet?" Andy asked quietly and Remus glanced at me.

"No, Moody won't tell me anything either. It's been five days since he was due back I hope that means they're looking, just in a secret way" I muttered.

"I'm sure Alastor is doing everything in his power to bring young James home to his family" Dumbledore said

"Well he doesn't have to be so fucking sneaky about it. Makes you not want to trust the guy" I said and Remus punched me making me wince.

"Why?" I whined and Remus smiled settling his head back on my shoulder and closing his eyes.

"Language" he said and I frowned at him.

"What language?"

"Don't sware at Dumbledore" he said and I rolled my eyes making him hit me again. "I saw that"

"Your eyes are closed"

"Werewolf magic"

"You made that up"

"I just like hitting you" he said.

"Ah young love" Dumbledore said fondly. Remus immediately stood up.

"I have to... be somewhere not here" he said and hurried away slipping into a conversation Lily was having with her two friends.

"Sir, I nearly had him and you scared him off" I sighed and Dumbledore stared at me, chewing his cake thoughtfully.

"It wasn't the professor Sirius" Andy said before Dumbledore could reply. "Your tendency to throw your sexuality in everyone's face is what did. Don't you remember how scary it was when you first realised you were gay?"

"Wait, wait, you think Remus is actually gay? No, he's straighter then a nail. This is just a thing we do, I try to make my love not so unrequited and he usually punches me in the face when I stick my tongue in his mouth"

"So you love Remus?" Andy asked, "That's really interesting"

"Yeah? Well he's probably going to marry your daughter so I'll just give up now"

"Stop being so impatient. If it's meant to be he'll come to you" Andy said and leant back in her seat so her daughter could sit in her lap once she finished collecting her cake.

I turned to Dumbledore

"Uh... sir..."

"Don't worry Sirius; I suffer from a condition where my hearing sometimes drops out so I didn't happen to hear anything about your unrequited love for our resident werewolf"

"Oh good" I said. He simply offered a smile and then walked off to retrieve some more cake.

I was saved from anymore conversation as Lily decided that there were definitely enough names in the hat. She handed her son to Remus and then called for silence.

"Ok" she said as the room quietened and everyone turned their attention to her. "I'm just going to make a little speech but I'll try and keep it short. Uh... I was brought up to believe that family is really important and to me it is, obviously not to my sister who I invited but she declined to join us"

"Hurray" I cheered and Lily just shook her head.

"But my wonderful husband taught me that friends can be family to, so that's why I gathered you all here, so that you could feel as connected to me as I feel to each of you. You are my family and I wanted you to be a part of this process, mostly because it's an important thing I want to share with you but also because I have no idea what I'm doing" she said and then hurried over to the coffee table to pick up the hat full of names.

"Now I know James isn't here and it's killing me that he's already missed so much, I've decided that so my son will always have something of his father's with him that his middle name will be James. Also I felt that the honour of picking his name should go to what will probably wind up being his second father and his Godfather. Sirius? Will you do the honour?"

"Uh..." was all I could choke out. Andy kicked my leg making me jump into action. "Of course"

I headed over to Lily and smiled at the crowd watching eagerly, even baby Potter trying to lean forward in Remus' arms to see what everyone was looking at.

"You know I'm going to try and rig it so I pick Antoine right?" I asked and Lily frowned.

"You didn't actually put that in did you?" she asked worriedly.

"We'll find out won't we" I said and stuck my hand into the hat. "How many tries do I get?"

"One" Lily said and I smiled ruffling the bits of paper around, stirring casually to build suspense. Remus immediately knew what I was doing,

"Come on Sirius. The baby isn't getting any younger" he said. I shot him a look and then grabbed a piece of paper quickly pulled it out of the hat.

"I can't do it" I said and handed it to Lily who unfolded it carefully.

"Harold" she said with a smile turned the paper over so everyone could read the name written on it. "Harold James Potter"

"To Harry!" Hannah cried raising her glass in a toast.

"To Harry" we cheered.

Remus handed baby Harry back to his mother and then began to say his goodbyes.

"Get some rest Remus" Lily ordered and Remus nodded. He made his way around the room and when he got to me took my hand and led me to the front door.

"I have to go" he said and I smiled at him.

"I know it's why we're at the door" I said and he shook his head.

"No. I'm going away, leaving"

"Leaving? What? When?"

"Tonight" he said

"TONIGHT" I shouted.

Everyone stopped talking and looked down the hall to frown at us. Remus offered a smile and then stepped outside, dragging me with him and shutting the door in everyone's curious faces.

"When were you going to tell me?" I asked and Remus sighed.

"I only found out today"

"Found out? What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to stay with my own kind" he said quietly.

"Remus, you're a wizard I'm your own kind" I said and he stepped forward planting a kiss on my lips. He rested his forehead against mine and whispered quietly, "Silly Sirius"

"You're really leaving" I said and he nodded slightly

"Yeah" he pulled away and sniffed. "If we had more time... I would have..."

"What? Fallen for my irresistible charms?"

"As it is I was already starting to" he muttered and I couldn't help but grin.

"Well it's hard to stay away from me, I am so lovable" I said and he let out an odd sound between a sob and a laugh.

"Yeah you are" he said and closed his eyes tilting his head skyward with a sigh. He looked back at me and bit his lip.

"Whatever happens promise you won't doubt me? Remember who I was not who I seem to be" he said

"Of course" I said and he smiled stepping forward to give me another kiss, this one a lot more thorough then the first one.

"Wow you're really good at that" he muttered and pulled me back to him. He pressed something into my hand and then pulled away.

"Goodbye Sirius"

"You know I hate 'goodbye'"

"Fine. Hello Sirius"

"Hello Remus" I replied. He smiled and then turned on the spot, Disapparating. I frowned at the spot he'd been standing before looking down at my hand. He had slipped a note into my palm. I quickly pulled it open and sighed.

_James Potter, room 309 St Brigid's Memorial Hospital_

"Oh Remus what did you do?"

* * *

NYAAAA. Done. Totally not worth the wait was it?

I just noticed I shoot people a lot in my stories and hit them with cars. It's like a plot thing when I can't work out how to exit a scene some I'm like 'hit them with a car'. Whatever! I enjoy the violence and you can take comfort in the fact I only do it once a story.

Lol I couldn't figure out how to upload my chapter because the site is all new. I found it though... obviously.

Again! I'm so sorry I took so long but I got horribly sidetracked with all these new story ideas; leave a review abusing my awfulness, Penny.


	13. Found and Lost

Ah! I am SO, SO sorry. Excuses at the bottom.

A lovely thanks to my reviewers, pinktortilla, Kaladelia Undomiel, Sareface, kb1073, Psyche101 and Shelby1989. Also a thanks to everyone who favourite and all that jazz.

Anyway... on with the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Found and Lost

Lily

Sirius had sprinted back into the house after Remus left shouting that he had found James, grabbed me by the arm, scooped Harry out of Bec's arms and ran out the door. He had started to head toward his motorbike, reconsidered it when he glanced at Harry and took my car instead. I sat in the back with Harry, putting him in the car seat while Sirius tore out of the drive like a madman. When Harry was safely buckled in I turned to Sirius staring at him through the rear-view mirror.

"Want to explain?" I asked

"I know where James is"

"How?" I asked. He shook his head violently and wouldn't answer no matter how I threatened him. The drive took just over an hour and I hadn't brought any of Harry's things so I was hoping it wouldn't take much longer he was starting to fuss.

Sirius pulled into a hospital driving around a little to find a car park. When we stopped I transfigured the car seat into a little carrier and some outdated maps into blankets carefully wrapping Harry up before placing him inside.

I followed Sirius inside and he walked up the reception desk.

"Hello welcome to St Brigid's how can I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked kindly.

"We're here to see James Potter, this is his wife and I'm his brother. He's in room 309"

"Oh um... ok. But... how did find out there wasn't any next of kin information left with us"

"Oh the man that dropped him off kindly came to get us"

"Ah yes Mr Smith. Very unusual gentleman" the woman said. "Take these visitors passes and just head up to the third floor"

Sirius and I grabbed a pass and clipped it to ourselves before making our way down the hall. It was clearly a Muggle hospital, the car park had been a dead giveaway but inside it became painfully obvious. I'd lived among wizards for so long that nurses in white and doctors in coats appeared unusual to me.

We took the lifts to the third floor and Sirius directed us along the hallway lined with doors. There were large windows so you could see into each room and a nurse's station halfway down where three nurses were gossiping and giggling.

Sirius stopped and I nearly walked into him. He was standing in front of a door just staring at it.

"This it?" I asked quietly and he glanced at me.

"Yeah... uh... you go in first. I'll wait out here" he said nodding to some chair.

"You don't have to do that Sirius. You're family too, come on" I insisted and led him inside.

James was sitting in bed his broken leg in a cast and elevated by a pulley system. I couldn't help but let out a giggle which made him turn from the magazine he'd been reading.

"Lily!" he said, "Oh Lily I'm so sorry I-"

"Shush. I don't want to hear it. Just... look" I said and indicated to the carried I was holding. His eyes widened and he looked at me in awe.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah" I said and set the carrier down and carefully picked up Harry.

"Can I hold him?" James asked sounding very hesitant.

"Course you can" I said and stepped over to the bed handing Harry over and adjusting James' hold so the baby was supported properly. Harry stirred a little, opening an eye to see who was holding him before closing it. He'd been held by so many people today he didn't fuss.

"Wow... what will we call him?"

"I hope you're not mad I already picked one"

"Not at all. Hit me"

"Harold James Potter"

"I'm not calling him Harold"

"Well he seems to like Harry" I said his name softly and Harry waved his hands giving a small giggle.

"Harry. Yeah I like Harry" James said and I smiled.

"I only got round to naming him today actually. I had a baby naming party. Because... you know... you weren't there for me to ask and I just really needed some input"

"Well it was some great input. Harry's perfect" James said. He hadn't taken his eyes away from Harry while Harry stared right back.

James sat simply staring at his son for over twenty minutes, memorising every single inch of the boy till he finally looked up at me.

"Okay... I know you're about to burst. Lay it on me" he said.

I took a deep breath and began my rant. James just tuned me out knowing that I need to rant and began to tickle and poke at Harry grinning whenever Harry giggled.

"You go off on some stupid mission for days. Miss the birth of your son – get kidnapped tortured and shot. Again! I mean wasn't it enough that you got shot the night before our wedding? Of course not, you got shot again as I'm giving birth"

"I didn't go out and say 'oh I think I'll get shot today' Lily" James said

"Not finished!" I said and James nodded indicating I should continue. "Then you go and get hit by a car and put into a hospital in the middle of nowhere. I know it's not your fault but you've been here for several days clearly. Were you going to try and contact me at all?"

"Of course I was Lily. I kept trying to escape so I lost my phone privileges but as soon as I earned them back you were the first person I was going to call"

"Really? Tell me James how do you use a telephone?"

"Pick up the talky bit and dial the number"

"Right okay... what's our phone number?"

"Um..."

"Oh my God James! You are hopeless I just can't believe that you would casually brush this all aside like it was all part of your master plan or something. Seriously it's not like-" I stopped when I realised that James was talking to Harry.

"Your mummy is so silly. You should get used to her yelling, especially if you turn out like me and become a trouble-making Quidditch star" he said and I frowned at him.

"No son of mine is playing that stupid game" I said and James turned to stare at me.

"Lily I have a legacy to protect, of course he'll play. Sirius is already shopping for a broom for him" James said and I glared at Sirius who was innocently whistling his eyes staring determinedly out the window.

"Well why can't he play a Muggle sport?" I asked turning back to James.

"Cause they're boring"

"But safe"

"Every sport has risks" James said.

"Really? What about cricket?" I asked smugly.

"You're at risk of falling asleep" James replied and I scoffed.

"That's ridiculous but even if he did happen to fall asleep in the middle of the field he doesn't risk falling a hundred feet off a broom"

"Lily, he's a Potter we live and breathe Quidditch. I bet he makes the team without even trying out. Now come over here"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I want a hug from my wife"

"Oh" I said with a smile and came over to stand beside him. He settled Harry in his lap while shifting over to make room for me on the bed. I sat and allowed him to throw an arm around me pulling me close to his side with a smile.

"I thought about you every day" he said quietly and I glanced at him.

"Same. Especially with Harry, he looks so much like you. If you hadn't come back I don't think I could have-"

"Shush, none of that" he interrupted and I nodded.

"I'm glad you're home. Or you will be" I said glancing around the hospital room.

"Yeah. Me too"

"I'm glad you're safe"

"Me too" he said with a grin and I smiled at him.

"I'm just really glad" I said softly and he turned to me with a smirk.

"What?" I asked frowning at him.

"Aw you're so sweet Lils. I know that you can't function without me"

"Oh that is not even-" he cut me off with a kiss

"Worth arguing about?" he finished for me and I narrowed my eyes. He smiled and kissed me again.

"Admit it"

"Admit what?"

"You missed me"

"Fine... I missed your stupid face okay" I said and he grinned.

"Yeah you did" he said arrogantly and I rolled my eyes getting up from the bed.

"I'll go get started on your paper work to get you moved to St Mungo's" I said and James stared at me for a second before holding up Harry.

"What?"

"Take him with you"

"You're his father. I'm sure I can trust you with him for ten minutes"

"I don't know Lily. I mean it's me we're talking about"

"He's your son. Bond" I said.

"Sure... your right... he's my son. I'll be fine" he said. I smiled and headed out of the room down to the nurses' station. I was there for less than a minute before Sirius emerged from James' room a screaming Harry in his arms.

"What happened?"

"James dropped him on the floor" Sirius said and handed the baby to me for me to soothe it.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah the man can hurl a Quaffle through a hoop a hundred and fifty feet in the air on a broom stick and can't manage to keep a hold of his baby. Maybe you should just let him get kidnapped again" Sirius said and I started at him

"What?"

"Never mind" Sirius said and hurried back to James' room.

I turned to the nurse in front of me who was staring at me with raised eyebrows.

"He's not well. We're trying to get him some help though" I said quickly and the nurse just nodded before handing me the forms I needed. I carefully positioned Harry and began to fill out the forms.

Things just needed to settle. James would be a wonderful father; he wouldn't drop Harry again and certainly wouldn't go off on a mission so unprepared. He's practically still a trainee Moody had no right sending him off and now they both learnt their lessons. I'm sure I could convince James to switch to desk work for a few months. Just until we all got settled into our role as parents. Parents. I looked down at the baby in my arms.

My baby.

We were parents.

The thought filled me with an immense amount of happiness.

This would be hard but it would be so great.

* * *

James

It felt amazing to be sleeping next to Lily again. I had to spend a week in a crappy Muggle hospital until I was well enough to be transferred to St Mungo's. I walked out of that place in an hour, the medi-wizards fixing my broken leg in a second and curing my aches and bruises with a few potions.

I was woken up by the sound of loud crying. It had been a nice day and I enjoyed being back with Lily. I was still getting used to the addition of Harry though and waking up to our son's frantic cries every few hours as he wanted to be changed or just a little attention was very strange for me.

Harry's wailing woke us up for the third time in six hours and I groaned while Lily let out a small whine. She sat up beside me flicking on the bedside lamp. She looked exhausted but shuffled to the end of the bed to peer into the crib where Harry had been sleeping. She picked him up and gently began to shush him, rocking him gently with her eyes closed as if she were asleep. I couldn't imagine how she had managed to do this every night. Six hours and I was losing my mind and I wasn't even doing anything.

"You ok?" I asked throwing a hand over my eyes to keep out the light of the lamp.

"Yeah" Lily replied in a sleepy slur and I couldn't help but laugh. She was sexy when she was all sleepy.

"Harry ok?"

"Yeah just hungry" she said.

I sat up and smiled when I saw her fringe sticking up to the left and her plait half undone. She was wearing one of my old shirts and had undone the buttons to allow easy access for Harry to feed.

"James stop staring at my breasts" Lily ordered.

"Well it's not like I haven't seen them before" I said "If you'll recall the making of the baby you're holding included a lot of breast action"

Lily just stared at me and moved the shirt so she was covered, though I could see the Harry shaped outline in the shirt.

"I'm curious" I said.

"Curious?" she repeated. "You're creepy that's what you are"

I continued to stare at her and she rolled her eyes.

"When I become pregnant my body begins to produce various different hormones in preparation for the baby. This is what lets me produce milk to feed the baby. He can't eat any other foods yet and won't be able to for a while"

"That's weird that it comes out there though"

"Well would you rather I chew some food and spit it into his mouth like a bird?"

"No" I said and she smiled shaking her head.

I continued to watch her until Harry was apparently finished and she shuffled over to me on her knees Harry carefully held in her arms.

"Do you want to burp him?"

"Burp him?" I repeated. Lily smiled and nodded to the towel on the end of the bed.

"Put that over your shoulder" she said and I did then she handed me Harry. "Now just pat his back gently till he burps or throws up"

"Ew"

"James" she said trying to hide her smile.

I patted Harry gentle and he gave a small burp before gurgling happily.

"Hey I did it" I said and manoeuvred Harry so he was cradled in my arms.

"And he didn't even need to throw up. Lucky you" Lily said looking down at Harry with a smile. He was blinking sleepily and made a quiet sound before falling asleep.

"Wow..." I said and Lily nodded.

"Now quick put him down so we can get some sleep" she whispered. I made my way to the end of the bed and gently lay him down in the crib. Lily showed me how to tuck him in before she refreshed the charms around the crib to make sure he accidentally hurt himself.

Lily sighed in relief and we got settled in bed again. She flipped off the bedside lamp and shuffled over so she could sprawl on top of me.

"Comfy?"

"No, my breasts are sore my vagina won't heal and my stomach is all saggy"

"Thanks for sharing" I said

"You asked" she replied and I pulled her closer planting a kiss on her head.

"No sex" she said.

"Damn" I sighed and she rolled over away from me with an evil giggle.

We were woken only once more by Harry who wanted to be near his mummy. Lily picked him up and soothed him but when she went to put him back in the crib he would cry again. She eventually just lay down on the bed with Harry on top of her. Harry, now content he would not be put back in the crib settled off to sleep.

I woke at a decent hour, Harry and Lily still sleeping beside me though Harry had slipped off and was now curled up at Lily's side. I smiled at them both before heading off for a shower. I stepped into the bathroom to find the shower already occupied.

I frowned and stepped over to the bath and pulled the curtain back.

Sirius let out a shriek which caused me to yell and wake both Lily and Harry. Harry immediately began to wail and Lily picked him up and stormed into the bathroom.

"What is-?"

"Oi! I'm naked here do you mind?" Sirius cried.

"Do I mind? You're in my house!" Lily snapped

"Guys! Meeting in the kitchen in ten minutes!" I shouted over the top of them. They both shot me glares but Lily retreated to the bedroom and Sirius resumed his shower.

I headed into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. Sirius emerged five minutes later and Lily soon after that.

"Harry ok?" I asked Lily as she sat down at the table.

"Yeah, I got him back to sleep" she replied and shot Sirius a glare.

"Ok now on to the important issue. Sirius, why were you in our shower?"

"I like to be clean" he said.

"Are you having trouble with your landlord again?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I wanted to talk to you" he said quietly.

"At seven in the morning?"

"Well I've been here since five actually but I napped on the couch for a while"

"I told you he shouldn't have a key" Lily said

"He would have found another way in" I pointed out and she sighed with a small nod of agreement.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked turning to Sirius. Sirius looked at me then glanced at Lily who sighed.

"I'll just go back to bed then"

"Sorry" Sirius muttered and Lily smiled.

"Don't worry about it" she said before heading off to the bedroom.

"So... what's up?" I asked pouring some milk on my cereal and starting to eat. Sirius sighed and moved seats so he was sitting right next to me.

"I'm gay" he said.

"Oh I know. I'm a notch in your bedpost remember" I said and he shook his head.

"No. Not like 'experimenting with friends' gay but 'really' gay"

"Yes I know"

"I love Remus"

"What?"

"I'm mad for him. Everything about him. His face, his hair that cute little way he says 'scone'" Sirius said and I smiled.

"Ok, so what do you want to do?"

"There's nothing I can do"

"What do you mean? Of course there is. Just approach it gently you don't want to ruin your friendship" I said.

"He's gone James"

"Gone?"

"Gone where?"

"I don't know. He said to live with his own kind. What does that even mean?"

"Well what exactly did he say?"

"Not much. He came to Lily's baby naming party and was being weird. Hugging everyone and clinging to me especially. Then we talked, he kissed me and told me if we had more time he'd definitely have fallen for me and then he left. Not before handing me a piece of paper telling me where you were"

"Sirius I was kidnapped by werewolves. Greyback and his pack. I escaped at the full moon using Prongs and they chased me. A farmer shot at us. I got hit in the leg and I heard a few of the wolves go down. I kept running but got hit by a car. I woke up in the hospital"

"The receptionist mentioned Greyback was the one who brought you in. Do you think he went to Remus and made some sort of deal for you?"

"Probably. He's an arse like that"

"That's so stupid though we would have found you eventually. I mean you remembered who you were you would have somehow gotten a message to us" Sirius said.

"Greyback had my wallet he knew where I lived he knew about Lily and Harry. Maybe Remus made a deal to protect us. He's been sacrificing himself for us for years. Remember all the times he lied to McGonagall and served our detentions when he hadn't even been involved in whatever we were doing"

"He was so giving wasn't he?" Sirius sighed and I gave him a sad smile

"You make it sound like he's not coming back" I said and Sirius stared at me.

"Be realistic here James. We're in a war, the Dark will try and find allies obviously they'll go for dark creatures. Remus will be the first to go, he won't join them and if he did they'd kill him because he's weak. He's not a werewolf, he's a... I don't know like a vicious puppy but not a werewolf"

"I'm telling him you said that when he gets back"

"James-"

"He'll come back. No one can stay away from you for very long. He'll be back and you can settle with him. You can buy him a house with your millions in Black riches. You'll live together and just do whatever it is two men do when they commit their lives to one another"

"Trick one into thinking they can have a baby and then ravish him repeatedly in attempts to make it" Sirius said and I frowned.

"Is that really what gay guys do?"

"Well because we're guys we don't have to talk about our feelings and whatever so it's pretty much just sex"

"Awesome" I said and then got smacked over the back of the head. I turned to find Lily glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

"You set me up didn't you?" I asked Sirius who smiled.

"I live to torment you. Now where is my lovely Godson?"

"Sleeping. And don't you dare sneak in to watch, it wakes him up" Lily said.

"I'll be really quiet"

"No. But I'm glad you've cheered up a little" Lily said and sat down opposite us. "Now talking about that whole Godfather business"

"I'm not stepping down" Sirius said glaring at Lily.

"I wasn't going to ask you to. I want him to be baptised" Lily said

"What's that?" I asked

"It's how you become a member of the Catholic Church"

"I don't want to do that" Sirius said.

"Idiot. I want Harry to be baptised" Lily said.

"Baptised? I don't know Lily. I thought that the church hated witches or something. Wasn't it all those nuts that burnt people at the stake?"

"Five hundred years ago" Lily replied. "Come on, my religion is very important to me"

"You haven't been to church in years"

"God doesn't take attendance" Lily said "I just want my son to be provided with every opportunity. If he decides later on in life that Catholicism isn't for him then I'll support that but I want him to have experienced it first. Plus I don't want him going to state school. Catholic school teaches much better morals and will help shape-"

"Lily he's going to Hogwarts" I interrupted and Lily stared at me.

"You don't know that James. There's a good chance he might not be magical"

"Don't you say that!" I snapped

"There's nothing wrong with it. We'll love him just the same right?"

"Of course"

"I just think that with my heritage that there might be a chance he could be non-magical"

"Squib" Sirius said

"What?"

"Non-magic children born to magic parents are Squibs"

"That sounds kind of derogatory" Lily said frowning.

"Oh... I guess" Sirius muttered and Lily rolled her eyes turning back to me.

"I think that it's important we prepare for every circumstance. Besides even if he does go to Hogwarts I would still like him to go to a Catholic primary school"

"What?" Sirius and I asked in unison.

"The school before high school" Lily explained.

"There are schools before high school?" Sirius asked

"Yes. How did you learn to read and write?"

"Mum" Sirius and I said together.

"Oh. Well I want him taught properly"

"By nuns who hit him on the hands when he can't write cursive?" Sirius asked

"There aren't many nuns left at most schools and they don't hit people anymore" Lily replied.

"Fine" I said and Lily beamed.

"Really because you're allowed to say no I don't mind" she insisted.

"Well I don't have to do anything right? You're not going to make me go to church and stuff?"

"No sweetie"

"Ok then its fine. You're catholic and went to the primary school and turned out great so..."

"I did turn out great didn't I?" she said with a smile.

"Aw James look what you did, you turned her into you" Sirius said.

"Well I am pretty great" I said arrogantly and Lily just shook her head.

"Anyway how's my mum? No change while I was gone?" I asked and Lily gave me a sad look and shook her head.

"She's still unresponsive. If it was an emergency they'd contact us. No news is good news" she said with a small smile.

"I guess. Maybe we could go see her. I know it's terrible but we've nearly completely forgotten about her. In fact if it wasn't for the hospital bills coming every month I might have" I said and Lily smiled.

"I know you haven't forgotten about her. I'm certain that she knows that too"

"You didn't see her while I was gone?"

"I couldn't I was on bed rest after the birth and I'll admit I did sort of forget about her but I was busy creating life ok" Lily said defensively and I laughed.

"We'll go see her then. Later this week if that's ok?" I said and Lily nodded.

"Of course. Now I have to go to St Michaels to talk to the priest about the baptism. Will you three be all right here on your own?"

"Wait, shouldn't you take Harry with you?"

"James he's your son I'm sure you can survive an hour or two alone with him while he's sleeping"

"What if he wakes up?"

"Then tend to him"

"What if he's hungry? How am I going to feed him?"

"There's some milk in the fridge"

"I thought he couldn't drink that milk"

"There's only breast milk in there"

"Oh Lily I put that on my cereal!"

"So it's fine when it comes from a cow but not when it comes from my breasts? I thought you liked my breasts" Lily said.

"I'm very disturbed" I muttered.

"Just go Lily I'll watch the kids" Sirius said and Lily laughed, heading off to the bathroom to take a shower.

She was dressed and ready in less than thirty minutes and then we were alone.

Almost as if sensing his mother's departure Harry began to wail. Sirius looked at me expectantly so I headed into the bedroom and lifted him out of the crib.

"What do you want hmm? Are you hungry? Are you sleepy?"

"If he was sleepy he'd just fall asleep" Sirius said and I turned to him.

"Well what could it be?"

"Well if that smell is any indication I think he might need a changing"

"Oh... right. How do you change a baby?"

"Really James? Really? You're a terrible father"

"Well to be fair I've technically only been doing it for a day"

"And you're terrible at it. Come here" Sirius said taking Harry from me. "I'm going to teach you"

"Lots of practice from all the illegitimate children you've spawned?" I asked as I followed him into the bathroom.

"Hah! You're so funny" he said with a fake smile as he lay a towel down on the bench. "When Regulus was born my mother pretty much figured as she'd carried him for nine month her job was done and Orion was... well fuck who knows where he was"

"You shouldn't sware in front of a baby"

"Anyway. The House Elves would take care of that stuff. It wasn't just creepy Kreacher. We had Mixy who was like the nanny. I liked Mixy, you know because she'd taken care of me so I'd watch her take care of Regulus" Sirius said.

"So you remove his little jammies" Sirius said unbuttoning Harry's little footed pyjamas. Once Harry was laying there in only his diaper Sirius turned and indicated to the area Lily had set up for changing Harry.

"You take off the smelly diaper" Sirius said and proceeded to do so. We both groaned in disgust and Sirius threw the diaper into the bin before turning back. "Clean him off"

I watched as Sirius carefully wiped Harry clean with a wet cloth, "Then you give him some baby powder so he doesn't get a rash" Sirius shook some baby powder onto Harry. "Then you grab a diaper and wrap him up snug" Sirius put the diaper on Harry and then tickled the baby who squealed in delight.

"And there you have it. A poo free baby" Sirius said and handed him back to me.

"Thanks man. I don't know what I'd do without you"

"You'd be covered in poo" Sirius said.

"You'll have one of these with Remus one day" I said looking down at Harry fondly.

"Yeah you think Lily will surrogate for us?" Sirius asked sarcastically and I looked at him with an evil grin.

"No you can get knocked up there's a potion for it now" I said and Sirius stared at me looking horrified.

"Oh... well... fuck"

"Not in front of the baby" I teased, "a phrase your baby will be hearing far too much. Harry here can baby sit and look after him when they're away at school causing mischief together"

"He'll turn out just like Remus. All bookish and shy"

"But with your killer charm and sexy hair" I said and Sirius gave me a small smile before bursting into tears.

"What am I going to do without him James? I feel so empty and so full of regret that I didn't do something sooner. That I was such a man whore and..."

"Oh Sirius" I said and held my son in one arm so I could hold the other one out for Sirius. He hurried forward and I hugged him.

"He'll come back and you can start again I promise" I said and Sirius nodded into my shoulder.

We eventually sat down and Sirius cried himself to sleep on my shoulder on the cold bathroom floor.

* * *

Ah, finished. I am so very sorry. It's been forever I know but I've just been so uninspired. Real life has been pretty crazy. My brother got married so we were all flat out helping out with that as the reception was at our house – hurray! Plus my sister may have to go into hospital so I've been feeling so down and depressed because I love my sister so, so much. But for the past three days I've forced myself to sit and write this so it's not very good because it's so forced but I was determined. It's a lot of sweet filler stuff which I sort of needed to write. I love the sweet stuff but it's really difficult to write. So I'm so very, very sorry.

Leave a review. I love hearing from you guys even if it's just pleading with me for never to leave you like that again, Penny


	14. Gone

Long time no chapter guys. I'm sorry, as usual. My life has just been so crazy right now because my sister has been really sick. I don't know if you guys read these but I know I've mentioned my sister a few times and how important she is to me. So I've been absolutely devastated and worried and just so not in the mood for writing. I haven't touched my laptop in months and I haven't felt at all like myself.

It's going to be long slow process for her to get better but things are looking a little better. I'm feeling a little better, better enough to squish this out anyway. It's short, its crap it's probably not at all what you guys wanted but it's what I could get out at the moment so here you go.

Sorry, I don't remember who reviewed but thanks for doing so! I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you I hate that more than anything but know that every single one of those reviews brought a smile to my face when I thought nothing could.

On with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Gone

James

Lily was off enjoying some much needed down time with her friends so it was just Harry and I together. I was bringing him to the hospital to meet my mum. She was still unconscious and the hospital was pressuring me to just let her go but I wanted her to meet her grandson first. Who knows that might help? I mean stranger things had happened.

I walked down the halls of St Mungo's, Harry strapped onto my chest sleeping softly ignoring the staff's coos at what an adorable baby he was. I already knew he was adorable he was my son of course he was adorable.

I headed into my mum's room and smiled at the fresh bouquet of flowers pleased that someone was still taking care of her even though at this point it was quite hopeless.

"Hey mum" I greeted and naturally didn't get a response. I didn't care.

I pulled a chair over to her bedside and sat down in it being careful not to jostle Harry too much.

"I have some great news. Lily had her baby, a beautiful baby boy. Sorry I didn't bring him sooner but I just hadn't really found the time. My last mission at work had me hospitalised but I don't think meeting him at two months is too bad. He smiles now and can laugh and lift himself up a bit. Just for a few seconds then his head ways him down too much. He's got a big head but that's for his big brain" I smirked and patted Harry's head softly.

"His name is Harry. Lily picked it. Well sort of... she had a baby naming party and had everyone write a name and drop it in the hat. I think it's a nice way of naming someone, everyone sort of feels involved you know? Hmm what else? Oh she wants him baptised too. I know dad would pitch a fit but you wouldn't mind. Your always much calmer about that sort of stuff. Besides I don't think he'll actually burst into flames or get struck by lightning when trying to go to church. Lily never has been and she's reassured me that she'll take him and I don't have to do much except go at Easter and Christmas which is apparently the same rule for just about everyone else. She also keeps going on about giving him a Muggle education. I know it's important he grow up without the prejudice wizards have toward Muggles but I just kind of wanted him to have the same life I did. I mean I turned out ok. Am I being prejudice? I don't know. I can't really expect Lily to stay home and teach my child, she's not that sort of girl. She wants a job, a career. She needs it, something to strive towards. I wonder if you and dad had this much trouble? I'm sure you did, I mean you guys were older and would have been way more mature then us but you always freak out with the first kid right?" I sighed and pulled Harry from the little carrier on my chest. He began to fuss being taken away from a warm body. I stood up and gently lay him down on mum's chest. She was breathing deeply, looking like she was simply sleeping but I knew she wasn't. Harry made a small noise before settling down huddling close to her warmth and I smiled.

"Harry this is your Grandma, she's a very special lady so you have to be nice and stop drooling on her you silly thing" I said with a grin carefully turning Harry's head so he wasn't drooling as much.

I let him sleep there for a while just sitting and thinking. I'd be heading back to work next week due to Moody's demands I get my arse back into gear. I'd had more than enough time off to settle my injuries after the disastrous mission and settle into the life of fatherhood according to Moody. That was fine by me; I need the money because babies are ridiculously expensive. They outgrow their clothes so fast and go through way to many nappies.

I had apparently fallen asleep because I woke up to the sound of Harry crying. I scooped him up and began to rock him trying to figure out what was wrong. After checking his diaper I figured it was probably a hungry cry and ducked down to his little carry bag filled with nappies and bottles of milk Lily had provided. I heated a bottle up and tested the temperature on my arm before deeming it safe enough for Harry to drink. He latched on and sucked furiously finishing the whole bottle rather quickly. He didn't seem to want another one so I gently burped him, unhappily cleaning up his vomit from my shirt as I'd forgotten the burping towel. I strapped him back into the carrier on my chest and bid goodbye to my mother before heading home.

"There are my two favourite boys!" Lily greeted when I walked in the door. She hurried forward and immediately took Harry from me putting him down in a little basinet at the end of the kitchen table.

I put Harry's things away and changed my shirt before sitting down at the table watching as Lily finished up dinner. She served me a plate of some chicken and vegetables with a smile before sitting opposite me with her own plate.

"Did Harry have any of the bottles?" she asked as she began eating.

"Only one"

"Hmm. That's odd; he usually eats a little more. He didn't want another?"

"Well he didn't cry for one"

"You still should have offered"

"I will next time; he's sleeping now you really want to wake him up?" I asked and Lily sighed then shook her head.

"So how was your mum?"

"The same, Harry seemed to enjoy the visit though. I rested him on mum's chest and he slept like... well a baby" I said and Lily gave me a small smile.

"That's good, means he trusts her"

"As he should that's his Grandma" I said.

We sat eating the rest of our dinner in a comfortable silence. Together we washed and dried the dishes before heading into the lounge room to snuggle together on the couch in front of the TV, Harry's bassinet moved closer so Lily could lean over to peer inside and check everything was still ok.

"James?"

"Hmm?"

"I spoke to my sister today"

"Now why on earth would you do that?"

"Because she's my sister you goose" Lily replied

"A bond I will never understand"

"No, I guess not, but you will respect it so no snarky comments. Now I invited her to the baptism-"

"Ugh, why on earth would you _do_ that?" I asked and Lily glared.

"I invited her to the baptism, she said no of course and proceeded to call me some rather hurtful names and implied Harry was born out of wedlock"

"Well I feel you brought that on yourself"

"James!"

"Lily, I thought you'd accepted the fact that she you weren't going to ever get along"

"That doesn't mean I'll stop trying"

"I thought you said you'd stop trying"

"James!" she whined.

"Ok, what do you want from me?" I asked.

"To support my decisions no matter how much you hate it" she said simply.

"Fine, I support your decision"

"Good, you can show that support by convincing my sister to come to the baptism" she said and I stared at her in shock.

"And how am I supposed to do that? She hates me more then she hates you"

"She doesn't hate me" Lily said and I rolled my eyes making her frown.

"What you don't own that" I muttered and she simply shook her head and sighed.

"James please, this is important to me"

"Why?"

"Because I want Harry to have a proper family with an Aunt he loves going to visit and a cousin he can play with" she said earnestly.

"He'll have siblings to play with" I replied and Lily looked at me quite startled.

"You want more kids?"

"Course I do" I said easily.

"Well it's easy for you; I'm the one lugging it around" she muttered.

"Come on Lily, your sister is a total bitch and you love her, I want Harry to have that. I never had anyone to talk to when I was growing up apart from adults. It's why I'm so mature"

"Yeah I sensed that about you when we first met" she said and I smirked.

"James, I really want Petunia there. Will you please try to get her to come? For me?" Lily asked and I sighed. I couldn't say no to her, it was my weakness.

"Fine" I grumbled and she squealed in delight launching herself into my arms to hug me tightly.

"Oh thank you so much"

"I don't understand you Lily"

"Yeah but I'm glad that you try to" she replied and I wrapped my arms around her giving her a soft squeeze.

We headed off to bed, Harry whining when Lily moved him to the bassinet in the bedroom. Now that she'd moved him he didn't want to let her go so he slept on the bed with us hugging Lily tightly. He woke up three times in the night, once for a dirty nappy which Lily made me change once because he was hungry which Lily had to do and then because he was bored or something. As soon as Lily and I had settled him in between us he happily fell asleep cuddled up to Lily.

The next morning I showered and dressed, giving Harry a quick bath which he thoroughly protested, screaming his little lungs out. I decided that if I was going to try and convince Lily's awful sister to stop being such a bitch a cute kid would help.

"I should go with you" Lily said and I smiled

"But you won't?"

"No I won't. I'll either yell at her or say something I'll regret so..." she trailed off with a sad little sigh.

"I'm going to fix it calm down" I said and she smiled.

"You're the best"

"Oh I know" I said arrogantly.

"Take the car"

"Why?"

"You can't Apparate into a Muggle neighbourhood!" Lily said and I rolled my eyes.

"She's like two hours away though!"

"James!"

"Fine!" I sighed.

"Good, I made up some bottles for you and there are still some nappies in the bag. If you need anything else Petunia's got some stuff too for her son"

"Ugh, she procreated with that whale?"

"Don't say that when you meet the baby"

"I won't" I muttered

"I mean it James! Don't be mean to that baby" Lily demanded.

I mimicked her mockingly before heading out to the car with Harry and putting him the little car seat.

"Thanks for doing this!" Lily called after me and I rolled my eyes.

"You should really spend some time bonding with your sister over your new motherhood"

"Well I will when you patch things up with her" she said with a smile. I shook my head and got into the car. Lily waved us off and I sighed as I began to the two hour drive down to Surrey where Petunia Dursley lived.

Harry seemed to enjoy the car, especially when I rolled down the windows and the wind blew in his face making him squeal and giggle. He tired himself out and fell asleep leaving me to drive on and on in silence.

It was a little after eleven when I was pulling up to number four Privet Drive. I sighed and stretched climbing out of the car before collecting Harry from the backseat. I noticed the nosy neighbours watching me curiously as I headed up the garden path.

I rang the door bell and waited, Harry awake now that I'd moved him was looking around a little.

The door opened and Petunia Dursley opened the door with a smile. Her face quickly turned sour when she recognised me and she huffed.

"What do you want?" she asked

"Lovely to see you too Petunia. I'm doing so well thanks for asking. Yes I'd love to come in, thank you so much" I said and brushed past her into the house.

Petunia sighed and closed the front door before following me into the living room. I sat down on the couch Harry sitting in my lap leaning against my stomach.

"So, where's this son of yours?" I asked.

Petunia stood and glared at me for a full minute before disappearing into the kitchen and coming back in with a bundle of blankets.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours" I teased and she looked scandalised for a moment before she realised I was talking about our sons.

"You won't do anything to him?" she asked and I frowned at her.

"Like what?" I asked with a laugh.

"Something... I don't know magical?" she asked and I stared at her. She was being completely serious. Okay... she hadn't been this bad before had she? No...

"No" I said seriously.

Petunia thought for a few moments before reluctantly handing over her son Dudley, she said his name was.

"That's an interesting name, where's it from?" I asked as Petunia carefully took Harry from me.

"It's an old family name, Vernon picked it. I only had names for girls"

"Hoping for a girl?"

"Right up till they handed me a boy. Now I wouldn't have it any other way"

"Will you try for a girl in a few years or...?"

"No... I... the doctor told me. I can't have any more children" Petunia said sadly. "It's hereditary you should get Lily tested. Though she'll probably be completely fine, you could just fix her up with some magic"

"It doesn't usually work that way. Magic and the body are really tricky, sure we can fix broken bones and cuts and scrapes in a second but anything deeper than that is a little more complicated. It's why I'm an only child; my parents had been trying for years and years till they had me. The pregnancy put so much strain on my mum that they kept telling her she should terminate"

"Well I'm glad she didn't listen. I think everyone deserves to have a child" Petunia said quietly.

"Even wizards?" I asked

"Yes, but not too many. Don't want you taking over the world or anything"

"Probably won't be happening. Magic gets a little more diluted with every generation because of all the inbreeding in pureblood families only willing to marry other purebloods"

"Do you know if he's magical?" Petunia asked indicating to Harry who was waving his arms around in front of her face to get her attention.

"Nope. Not till he starts with accidental outbursts. That will only happen in extreme emotional states, so really angry or really sad. Mine were whenever I was scared; I'd just pop myself away from wherever I was to wherever my mum was. I could be halfway across the country but if something scared me I was right back in her arms. It gets easier to control at Hogwarts when you've got a wand to channel it all through"

"What if he's normal?"

"Lily wants to send him to a Muggle primary school anyway so if he's normal then he can just go onto Muggle high school. I just won't be able to help with his homework and instead of Quidditch he'll play football or something"

"Is there a chance Dudley would be magical?"

"There's always a chance. I mean anyone in the world has the potential for it. Take Lily for example; completely non-magical parents a non-magical older sister with non-magical relatives dating back who knows how long? Anyone could have it in them"

"If he does... would you take him?" she asked and I stared at her.

"What?"

"Well, it's not that I wouldn't love him, I just... I wouldn't know what to do with him and I just keep thinking about Lily... how different she would be if she had an aunt or uncle who was magical and could help her out when she was struggling. The kids in town used to pick on her all the time, the only person she could make friends with was that wretched Snape boy and he was a bigger freak then she was"

"Of course he can stay with us occasionally but I also think it's really important that if he does turn out magical he feels comfortable in his own home, not like he's being sent away to the 'freaks' for the summer because his parents are to scared of him"

"No, no... he's my son I'd make him feel special and loved" Petunia said and I nodded.

Dudley began to fuss so we swapped back, Dudley relaxing in his mother's arms and Harry cooing in excitement as he recognised me.

"Lily wanted to know if you'd come to the baptism" I said and Petunia shrugged.

"I can't. I would like to and I'm really glad that Lily is sticky to her catholic roots but Vernon won't like it. He doesn't even want Dudley baptised... he's opposed to anything like that. If he can't see it it's not real, he's very set in how he thinks the world should be. I love him for it, it's nice to finally meet a man who knows exactly what he wants if you understand. Of course it's also extremely frustrating because although I don't have a great relationship with my sister I'm probably not going to be able to see her much because of the people we married. This is my life now and it's not like I never talk to Lily, we send Christmas and birthday cards and we call each other sometimes. We're just different. Too different unfortunately" Petunia said and I nodded not too sure what to say.

"Lily would really appreciate it"

"I know. But Lily's the younger sister; she's never really had to live in the real world. Always off at Hogwarts learning spells and fancy things. Sometimes things just can't go the way she wants them to"

"It'd still be nice"

"I'll see what Vernon says" Petunia muttered and I grinned.

"That's all I ask" I said and she smiled shaking her head.

"So how are you enjoying fatherhood?"

"It's weird. I'm so grateful I've got Lily. We're both just so young its hard being married and having a baby when we still want to go out and get drunk. Well I do anyway, Lily's good about it though, we sort of trade she needs a break so I've got Harry today but I'm going back to work soon so she'll be the stay at home mum"

"She doesn't want to work?"

"She does but we're going to wait now till Harry's a little older"

"Of course. But you'd let her work?"

"She doesn't need to but Lily doesn't like just sitting around"

"No she doesn't" Petunia said sadly.

We spoke for another hour or so before Petunia shooed me out to do some errands with the assurance she'd chat to Vernon and see if they could come.

I headed back to Lily with a sleepy Harry, we'd had to stop on the drive home for a feed and diaper change which I'd done in the backseat.

We arrived home to a very distraught looking Lily. I frowned and handed Harry over to him when she reached for him.

"What's wrong?" I asked and she gave me a sad look.

"James, I'm sorry I didn't mean to but the owl wouldn't leave till I opened the letter..." she said. I frowned at her and she nodded to the kitchen table.

I walked over to the table and picked up the letter. I read it my mind skipping to the only parts worth reading and they burned in my brain.

_Mr James Potter... Regret to inform you... mother passed away last night... very peaceful... sincerest wishes... Healer Mitchell St Mungo's._

"James?" Lily asked quietly.

"I... I have to... go... make arrangements" I said.

"James!"

* * *

Lily

I held Harry in my arms hiding his face from nosy photographers. Of course they wanted to get a look at the survivors of the Potter Family Massacre but this was a funeral didn't they have any respect. They were kindly waiting outside the cemetery gates but they were still causing such a ruckus.

Sirius stood beside me an arm wrapped around my back the other protectively hiding Harry from the reporters.

Penina Potter had passed away, peacefully in her sleep, several hours after she had met her grandson. James was taking a lot of comfort in the fact that they had had that time together even though it had only been for about an hour and both had been quite unaware of it.

James was standing with his grandfather and several of his cousins, all that was left of the Potters and they huddled together over Mrs Potter's coffin. The man conducting the funeral warbled on about celebrating the life she led not mourning her death.

There were people from the Ministry; she had been married to the Minister of Magic before he had died and old friends of the Potters, wailing over the loss of another one.

It was then over and everyone offered their condolences to James and his family, to me and Sirius as they passed. Sirius taking up the role of host when I opened my mouth and no sound came out; he invited everyone back to our house for the wake. He got rid of nosy reporters when they got to close and helped keep James calm, would take Harry when he started fussing so I could have a break and had even helped me cook this morning.

We headed back to the house but not before a few sneaky reporters managed to get a few sneaky pictures of Harry and myself. Sirius punched one reporter who was asking a few too many questions before Apparating me away.

When everyone arrived at the house and began to mingle I handed Harry so Sirius and started offering food and drinks.

James came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Thanks Lily" James muttered resting his head on my shoulder.

"How are you doing?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know... I always had this stupid fantasy she'd wake up and even as her chances lessened month by month it was always there. I don't quite believe it yet"

"Perfectly normal reaction"

"I just wish it wasn't like a blood circus. Did you see all those reporters? Bastards! I mean dad I can understand but mum deserved a little bit of peace you know?"

"I know. Maybe we can sue them or something?" I suggested

"Oh that'd be nice"

"I think they got some photos of Harry so if they publish those I'd like to sue. No child should have cameras shoved in his face. It's not right" I said

"I love when you get all mad" he said and kissed my neck.

"James, really? Here?" I asked

"In my kitchen in my time of need I can't think of a better place?"

"How about the bedroom when everyone leaves?" I asked

"Oh you know just how to comfort me"

"I know you need to make jokes right now honey but calm them down in front of your Aunt ok?"

"All right" he sighed

"Good, now go take these sandwiches over there" I said and held up a tray of finger sandwiches.

I watched him go with a small frown; Sirius came to stand next to me, Harry in his arms waving them towards me trying to grab me.

"I think someone wants him mummy" Sirius said I glanced at him and smiled at Harry before carefully taking him from his Godfather and giving him a quick kiss making him coo.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah Lily-flower?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?"

"Yeah"

"Do you have that feeling now?" I asked glancing at him.

"Yeah" he nodded and I sighed.

"I have it too"

"Well James' mum won't die again if you're worried about that" he said and I looked at him seriously.

"No, I'm worried about everybody else" I confessed.

* * *

Over, done yay! May put some edits in later. May not, as is my style. Probably won't update till after Christmas, sorry, you know unless I get super inspired. Thanks for the patience and support, Penny


	15. Run

Long time no see! I'm sorry. I'm always sorry and I always take long so you're used to it and my excuses but I am sorry! Really!

Hope you all had good Christmas' and New Years, Valentines Days and St Patricks days. Hope you all have a good Good Friday, today tomorrow, depending on where you're from.

I shall be enjoying my day off from work being fully paid, YAY. And a chapter YAY!

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers bat fan1987, Future Writer Girl and Kaladelia Undomiel.

Missing some of my regulars but I hope you're still reading even if you're not reviewing. On with the chapter!

Chapter Fifteen: Run

Lily

"Hey look buddy, you're front page news" Sirius cooed to Harry who wriggled his arms and gave a small laugh in response.

"What?" I asked snatching the paper from him.

"Your mums got no manners" Sirius said to Harry.

I shook my head and stared at the paper staring at the front page. There we were at the funeral the other day, Harry James and I along with a few of the other Potters, making our way out of the cemetery. The article was less about Mrs Potter's death and more about little baby Harry.

"This reads like a gossip magazine not a news paper" I said in disgust.

"Of course it does, they've got this new reporter Rita Skeeter, she's been an award winning writer for Witch Weekly for years. She's been trying to make the jump into being a respectable reporter and finally has though her writing doesn't really show that" Sirius said.

"It's disgusting. I don't understand why Harry is so interesting to them"

"Because you were pregnant with him and went up against Voldemort. He's like a little miracle baby"

"It's not like I was waddling around pregnant. Voldemort had no idea he was releasing three prisoners instead of two"

"Well he will now if he subscribes to the Daily Prophet" Sirius said and I shook my head.

"Ugh, why would he read it? It's complete rubbish"

"Maybe he likes to read about his dastardly deeds in a badly written article" Sirius said with a grin.

I turned and frowned at Sirius.

"He wouldn't right? I mean... he wouldn't kill a baby... it's... it's a baby, he's not that bad. Well I mean I know he's that bad but he's not_ that_ bad right? Sirius? Right!? RIGHT?!" I screamed

"Lils, chill, everything will be fine. You worry too much has anyone told you that?"

"Just about everyone at least once" I replied

"So what you need to do is relax? Stress is bad for the baby"

"When he's in my tummy but he's fine in his crib, aren't you my gorgeous boy?" I asked tickling Harry's tummy making him squirm and shriek in delight.

"Now are you over your crazy?" Sirius asked and I simply rolled my eyes instead of replying, "Good, I think we should take my favourite little man to the park"

"Thanks Sirius but I don't really want to go to the park. I have to finish up this case work" James said from his seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh like there was even a chance I was talking about you. You're old news Prongs, Harry here is the wave of the future"

"I'm hurt" James said

"It'll be good to get out for a few hours, let Harry have a little play in the snow before it gets too cold. Plus with the quiet you can get some more work done"

"That would be nice. All that time off has put me so far behind everyone else"

"Good then it's settled" I said with a smile and picked Harry up heading off to change him into his outdoor winter clothes.

Once he was all wrapped up and snug I grabbed his supplies and then wrapped myself up in a coat and scarf before heading over to James. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and made him kiss Harry.

"Be good" I said and James grinned.

"Be safe"

"I've got Sirius with me I'll be fine" I assured.

* * *

Serverus

I stalked through the halls of Malfoy Manor trying to ignore the wailing baby Lucius was trying to soothe at my right.

"Do you have to bring that thing with you everywhere?" I asked irritably and Lucius glanced at me.

"Yes. It's a baby. It's not really capable of doing much on its own unfortunately"

"It is your son and has a name"

"It doesn't really look human yet" Lucius muttered. I glanced at the squalling thing in Lucius arms. No with its red face and big eyes, wide open bawling mouth and wispy blonde hair on its head it wasn't looking particularly human. Really, though, to me babies, children, teens and men all fell under categories as different species.

"No" I agreed quietly.

"I wonder why he won't be quiet. He usually loves me"

"Perhaps we should find out and he might stop"

"Perhaps" Lucius said.

"Gentlemen!" a voice barked from behind us. We were both startled by the suddenness and Lucius dropped the baby in surprise. He immediately crouched down to pick it up and shot me a look.

"That never happened" he said and I nodded.

We both turned to find the Dark Lord standing behind us with a raised eyebrow.

"I have the most wonderful news" the Dark Lord said and held up the news paper.

Lucius and I both glanced at the headline,

"So the old crone kicked it? I don't get it" Lucius said.

"The picture gentlemen. I may have killed a good few Potters, another dying just this week but our favourite fiery red head is helping them repopulate" the Dark Lord said using a long bony finger to point to the picture.

Beautiful Lily was wearing a long black dress holding onto a squirming bundle of blankets that was unmistakably a baby. James Potter was next to her with a fierce scowl on his face pushing reporters out of the way trying to shield the baby from their flashes. The blanket slipped for a moment and the babies face was clearly visible, big green eyes stared in fascination at the flashing lights before Lily covered his face back up.

The Dark Lord flipped the article toward him and began to read, "The new addition to the Potter clan, born earlier this year at the end of July, is being kept well hidden by his parents, blah, blah he's adorable. Anyway... July! The end of July! This little bastard is my downfall! Can you believe it?"

I could feel my heart stop and I stared at Lily's picture on the front of the paper. Her face was blank but her gorgeous green eyes were flashing with anger at every photographer.

"My Lord, there are numerous children that fit that description. The Longbottom child for example" I said quickly and he stared at me for a few moments before nodding.

"You're right. I shouldn't go about killing children that would give me a bad name" he said and then laughed. "Seriously though I'm not going to go and kill the child right this minute. I'll make sure I'm killing the right one when I'm ready too. For now though we're going to pay the Potters a nice little visit"

That's what I was hoping to avoid...

* * *

James

My vision was getting blurry from staring at the stupid case in front of me for two hours straight. I decided I had earned myself a break and headed over to the fridge.

The doorbell rang just as I was appraising the fridges contents. With a frustrated sigh I closed the fridge and made my way to the front door, opening it with a scowl.

"_Expelliarmus_"

My wand flew out of my hand and I groaned holding my hands up in surrender when I saw who was standing on my porch.

"You're a very bad Auror Mr Potter" Lord Voldemort said pleasantly

"Yeah I know" I replied with a shrug.

"Mr Potter, may we come in?" he asked. I glanced to Lucius Malfoy and Serverus Snape standing behind him both glaring at me; I looked back to Voldemort and frowned.

"What would you do if I said no?" I asked

"Walk right in" he replied.

I stepped to the side and waved them inside with an exaggerated flourish of my hands.

I slammed the door shut behind them and hit Malfoy in the arm to make him drop my wand jabbing it into his back painfully.

"You should know to never turn your back on an enemy" I said mildly.

"I didn't" Snape said and I felt a wand poke into my neck.

"Boys, manners. We're guests" Voldemort said.

I waited for Snape to lower his wand before I released Malfoy.

Voldemort nodded approvingly and led the way into the living room sitting on the couch. Snape and Malfoy stood behind him and I kept my distance leaning against the wall watching him.

"If I didn't know any better Voldemort, I'd say you have a crush on me. And all this killing my family and turning up at my house whenever is your way of showing you care" I said and Voldemort smirked.

"Purely political I assure you Mr Potter. I merely wish to rule the world and annoyingly you're always in the way"

"Yeah, I do that. So what do you want?"

"Where are your beautiful baby and your doting wife?"

"Out" I said shortly.

"Where?" Voldemort asked. Snape shifted behind him looking like he wanted to interrupt but stopped himself.

"At her sisters. She'll be there the rest of the week" I lied smoothly.

"Really? Why is that?"

"Showing off the new baby. Are we done?"

"Of course" Voldemort said and gracefully stood up. "I feel so impolite leaving without leaving a gift for the new baby, perhaps his father's smouldering corpse to go along with the rest of the Potters? Generations reduced to ashes, how does it feel?"

"Not as bad as – hey is that Grindelwald?"

The three men turned around

"What? It can't be he's in prison"

"_Expulso_!" I cried blowing up the couch and sending Snape and Malfoy flying back into a wall from the force of it. Voldemort flew forward smashing his head into my coffee table.

Snape recovered first and quickly began to fire curses at me. The greasy git had always been better at me in duelling so I didn't bother really trying. I dodged mostly and fired back curses when I could.

Malfoy stood and flipped his long blonde hair off his face joining Snape in throwing curses at me.

"_Relashio_" I yelled and Malfoy was sent blasting through my glass back door. I sprinted into the kitchen dodging one of Snape's curses.

"_Reducto!_" Snape shouted and blew a hole in the bench I was crouching behind missing me by inches. I leant over carefully to peek through the hole glancing around to see where he was.

He was using the corner wall as cover and popped out to shoot a curse at me. I dodged it in time and fired back with a "_Stupefy!_" when I saw his black hair peeking around the corner. He dodged it easily and fired a curse back at me.

"You're an idiot Potter. I don't know what she sees in you" Snape said and I quickly threw a spell at him.

"I don't know either. It's a miracle but it happens" I replied.

"You don't deserve her!" he cried

"Oh I know that Snape but you don't deserve her anymore then I do"

"Yes I do! I've suffered so long, I made one mistake, one and it's taken everything"

"Not really my problem mate. _Confringo_!" I blew a hole through the corner wall and rolled my eyes. Fighting is too expensive...

"_Stupefy_!" Malfoy's voiced rejoined the fight and I shook my head. I needed to get out of here. I was out numbered and if Voldemort woke up I was screwed. I glanced around for an escape route. I was hiding in the kitchen and was, unfortunately, cornered. The benches opposite me held the sink and a window showing the side laneway of the house.

I'm such an idiot. I said to myself.

Don't do it. A voice countered, it sounded like Lily.

Gotta get out of here.

You can't be serious.

It'll be fine.

You've nowhere to go.

I'll find somewhere.

Ugh... idiot.

"_Deprimo_!" I shouted and blew out the wall opposite me. I didn't give anything a chance to settle, I leapt out of the house firing curses over my shoulder.

"_Incendio_!" there was a loud bang as the corner of the house caught on fire.

That sounded like Malfoy... I'm sending him a bill; you can't just set someone's house on fire no matter how much the owner had trashed it. A broken wall was fixable, fire damage wasn't.

I ran out onto the street and began to sprint, zig-zagging to avoid the curses still coming at me.

"_Sectumsempra_!"

"Ah" I cried out my hand flying to my side which was now spouting blood staining my shirt.

"Fuck!" I shouted and turned to Snape who was advancing on me with a mad look in his eyes. I stared at him, his black eyes blazing as he stalked toward me in billowing black robes.

Hit me

Hit me!

HIT me!

HIT ME AND RUN! WHAT ARE YOU BRAIN DEAD?

"Stupefy" I said and Snape didn't even try to block it like I knew he could. He went down landing on his face. I winced in sympathy but didn't pause to check on him. I spun around on my heel and carried on, jogging trying not to jostle my wound.

People were starting to gather in front of my house, I paid them no mind heading in the opposite direction, trying to look as nonchalant as possible with my side slipt open.

I had to get to Lily. We had to go. Now. Get out and go far away. Far, far away.

I made it to the park. I could immediately see Lily's beautiful red hair standing out vividly against of the snow around her. She was sitting on the ground, Harry in her lap letting him poke at the snow in her palm.

I ran toward her.

"Lily!"

"Oh my God James! James what happened!" she cried standing up. "You're not wearing shoes! And... is that... you're bleeding. Oh my god! What happened?"

"Voldemort... we have... have to... have to go"

"James. What happened?"

"I... I... ow" I said and looked down. There was blood everywhere, all over the snow covered ground standing out as brilliantly as Lily's hair.

"Ok, ok, it's ok just lie down, the snow will help numb the pain. I'll try and stop the bleeding all right? Lift your shirt"

I lifted my shirt and carefully lay down while she sat beside me Harry resting on her lap staring at me blinking brightly.

Lily took off her gloves and shoved some snow onto my wound.

"OW!"

"Sorry, sorry. _Aguamenti_" she said and watered burst out of the tip of her wand washing away the blood so she could see the wound better.

"Shit! That's cold"

"Sorry!" she said again. "Oh, what did you get hit with?"

"I dunno... I'd never heard of it. I think Snape made it up"

"Great a brilliant duellist making up his own curse" Lily said and began to wave her wand over the wand muttering spells.

"It won't stop! It's not clotting. I don't know what to do. What do I do?"

"Where's Sirius?" I asked

"I don't know... he was talking to some women by the swings"

"I need to go to hospital... yes... hospital"

"How?"

"Apparate"

"I don't have my licence"

"I'm sure that the Ministry will forgive you this once. You know how right?"

"Uh... yes"

"Lily! I'm already injured here if you splinch my leg I'll find it and use it to beat you ok?"

"All right, all right!" she cried. She held Harry to her tightly and gripped my hand with her free hand.

"Remember destination, determination and deliberation" I said and she nodded closing her eyes tightly.

There was the uncomfortable squeezing feeling that accompanies Apparation and we both looked around.

"Oops" Lily said as we looked around. Crowded supermarket not good. Lily shut her eyes again and we were squeezed once more.

We appeared back in the park about three inches from where we'd left.

"Lily you're bad at this. I didn't think you were bad at anything but you really suck" I said and she whined miserably.

"Shit! Prongs!"

Lily and I both looked over and Sirius sprinting toward us through the snow.

"Hospital now please!" I said holding out my arm. He latched onto it and a second later we were landing in St Mungo's waiting room.

Harry was wailing from all the jumping around and Lily was crying trying to soothe him with her bloodied hands.

"We need some help over here!" Sirius called.

People hurried around and I was lifted onto a stretcher and carried away, watching Sirius turn to Lily and begin to calm her down.

* * *

Sirius

"What happened?" I asked Lily as James disappeared through the double doors that permitted only hospital staff.

"He said it was Voldemort. I couldn't get much else. Snape was there, Snape's the one who cursed him. I bet it was one of those horrible curses he made up" Lily sighed. "I need to go home. I have some of his notes maybe I can work out a counter curse"

"Ok, I'll take you it's all right" I said and she nodded.

I Apparated to the house, something told me not to go directly inside so I opted for the alley nearby. Lily started forward but didn't make it more than a step. There was a crowd of people gathered on the street watching the fire consume James and Lily's home.

There were firetrucks and firemen running around trying to put out the blaze. The neighbours were all watching on curiously, gossiping amongst themselves about the cause and the house owners.

"We have to get out of here" I said and Lily nodded in agreement.

We Apparated back to the hospital and Lily collapsed into a hard plastic chair in the waiting room with a sigh.

"I'll watch Harry you go clear yourself up" I said and she frowned at me. I carefully indicated to her blood stained hands and she gasped immediately handing Harry over to me.

"God" she said and then headed off in search of a bathroom.

She returned twenty minutes later refreshed but still terribly pale. She took Harry out of my arms and blinked at me sadly.

"What do we do?" she asked quietly.

"You can come stay with me. You guys can have the bedroom I'll crash on the couch it's all right"

"Sirius"

"Lils I practically mooched off James for the last five years. The least I can do is let you stay at my place"

"Just till we get back on our feet" Lily said shakily and I nodded pulling her into a hug.

"Course" I said and she rested her head on my shoulder.

I held her tightly for a few minutes before we headed over to some uncomfortable waiting room chairs.

"If I never see a hospital again it'll be too soon" Lily said and I smirked.

"Yeah you seem to get banged up a lot"

"Me? It's James in here every three seconds. Maybe I should just live here" she said and I laughed.

We lapsed into silence, Harry huffing quietly in his sleep the only thing disturbing the silence.

"All of his baby stuff..."

"We'll get him more. He was outgrowing most of it anyway" I said easily and she glanced at me before looking back down at Harry.

"I hate this. I don't want Harry to grow up in a world like this. I don't want him to ever have to see the inside of a hospital to visit someone or because he's here himself" she said. "Voldemort has to go. He won't get a chance like this again. The next time I see him... the next time I see him, I'll finish it. I'll finish him. I make that promise right here, right now to you Harry, you won't grow up like this I promise"

* * *

Serverus

Lucius fixed my nose. Badly.

Potter's stupid curse had me falling flat on my face and I'd broken my nose.

The Dark Lord had hauled Lucius and I up and Apparated us away before the Muggles had started to properly swarm.

I was now sitting in the parlour of Malfoy Manor with an ice pack on my face as Lucius' healing spells left a lot to be desired in pain relief.

The Dark Lord was now pacing back and forth, snarling in a rage while Lucius weakly tried to get him to hold still so he could pathetically heal the large bleeding wound on the back of his head.

"My Lord?" I asked hesitantly and he stopped turning to me with a glare.

"What?!"

"I have decided what I want as reward for telling you the prophesy" I said and he raised an eyebrow at me before he smirked. He stalked over to me and sat down beside me.

"You were brilliant today Serverus. Of course I shall give you anything your heart desires" he said silkily and I lowered the ice pack from my face to stare him in the eyes.

"What is it that you desire?" he pressed.

"Lily Evans" I said. He looked taken aback for a second before he started to laugh.

"You know very well I can't do that"

"You can kill the boy I don't care I want Lily Evans" I said quickly.

She'd forgive me in time, surely. I could give her another child. A better child because he'd be ours... not theirs.

The Dark Lord was laughing again.

"Oh there's hope for you yet Serverus you cruel bastard. You want me to separate a mother and child?" he asked and I could only stare at him determined not to beg. I would not beg, not for him.

"Very well. If she doesn't get in the way then she may live but I'm not going to change my plans if she does prove a nuisance"

Not good enough. You have to save her. Keep her safe, safe from Potter, the Dark Lord, everyone. Lock her away, save her, keep her safe.

"Yes my Lord, thank you"

Save her, keep her safe.

* * *

Albus

I Apparated on to the top of the cliff face. Wind whipping around me fiercely I raised my wand, the tip illuminated to shine light on the cowering figure before me.

"Don't kill me"

"I didn't plan to" I replied.

The figure stumbled forward slightly but dared not come any closer. It was Serverus Snape.

I gave him a cold look as I took in his features. He was crying, he looked horrified so scared and twitchy glancing around in alarm. He had broken his nose again I couldn't help noticing, it unfortunately made his rather large nose appear rather hooked.

"What message does Voldemort send?" I asked sharply and he flinched.

"No message... I... I come on my own account. I have a warning... no, no... a request" he said.

I frowned at him. What on earth could I do for him? I could not pull him from Voldemort's service he was chained to the man forever through the Dark Mark. Nothing could save him from that.

"What would a Death Eater request from me?" I asked

"The prediction" he spluttered, "The prophesy... Trelawney!"

"Ah, and how much did you tell Voldemort?"

"I... everything... everything that I heard" he said. "He... thinks it's... he... Voldemort thinks it's Lily Evans"

"There was no mention of a woman, the prophesy spoke only of a boy born at the end of July"

"You know what I mean! He thinks it's her son. He plans to hunt them down... kill them... all of them" he wailed.

I paused. Harry. Little baby Harry who had tugged on my beard and tried to eat it as if it was cotton candy, not knowing any different. Only a few months old, so young so innocent.

"If she means so much to you surely you could ask Voldemort to spare her?"

"I have... I have asked him"

"You disgust me!" I said. Never before had I felt like spitting on someone then I did at this moment. never before had I felt like strangling someone then right now.

"You do not care about the lives of her husband and son? You do not care that they die so long as you are happy? Lily would be miserable and you know it"

"I... hide them. Hide them all... please just... keep her safe, please!" he begged and started to cry again.

"And what will you give me in return Serverus?" I asked and he blinked at me hastily wiping his eyes.

"In return?" he repeated. He frowned for a few moments before answering "Anything"

"Anything?" I repeated and he nodded.

I walked over to him and rested my hand on his head.

"Remember that" I said and he looked up at me with wide eyes and gave one single nod.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. Sorry for all characters jumping around but that's how it wanted to be. Also sorry it's a little short but this was where the chapter needed to end.

I haven't updated in a while because I'm working on some more adult novels that I plan to post on AFF but I'm waiting till I finish them so that readers can get chapters on a regular basis as opposed to this, where I just throw one out when I feel like writing it.

Review; let me know what you loved what you hated etc, Penny


	16. Godrics Hollow

Ahhh another chapter boys and girls. Enjoy, enjoy!

Thanks to my reviewers! Love you guys, you keep me going honestly!

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Godrics Hollow

Lily

I sat on James' lap with Harry on mine. We were squished on Sirius' couch along with Sirius and Peter. The rest of the Order of the Phoenix was perched on whatever they could find in Sirius' tiny flat. Dumbledore had conjured himself a plush antique wingback chair in Gryffindor red.

"Tell me exactly what happened" Dumbledore said and I glanced down at James.

We'd gotten out of hospital that morning. They had managed to close his wound but it would never fully heal. I was feeling awkward perched on him but trying not to lean to heavily on him but I just wanted to be close. I couldn't be even an inch further away without going into a panic.

"I was at home doing paper work. He just knocked on the front door. We talked and then started firing curses. They blew out the wall and I set the house on fire to trap them. I'm assuming there were no bodies?"

"No, they Disapparated" Dumbledore said.

"Of course they did" James said.

"This is ridiculous" I said and stood up handing Harry to James who was staring at me.

"My husband has been injured. My home, our home is gone and you're sitting here talking. It's our lives he's attacking. This is the third time he'd been to my house, threatened my family. I won't have it. We need to strike. Now! I will not have my son growing up around this nonsense. It stops now. Who's with me?" I asked there was a cheer from the gathered crowd. Dumbledore held up his hand to silence them and gave me a sad look. His blue eyes filled with pain.

"Lily, I would like you, James, Alice and Frank to remain here the rest of you are dismissed"

"Oh, ok it's not like it's my place or anything" Sirius muttered as he cleared out with the rest of the order.

Alice and Frank Longbottom brought their bar stools closer to Dumbledore's chair while James and I spread out a little on the couch.

"There is something I must tell you both. It might not be easy to hear" Dumbledore said. "It's about your sons"

Alice clutched Neville to her tighter and exchanged a glance with Frank.

"Tell us" she insisted.

"I was interviewing a young woman for a position at Hogwarts. She came from a long line of seers but I concluded the gift had skipped her entirely until... she went into a trance and told me this. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'" Dumbledore said and then there was silence.

"But... it... I mean it couldn't be true. That's ridiculous" I said dismissively. Alice didn't look very sure but Frank was nodding right along with me.

"Regardless of whether or not it is true Voldemort believes it is which means you are all in danger"

"But it only says a boy. So Neville should be fine right, he's obviously going after Harry" Alice said and I shot her a dirty look.

"He's not obviously doing anything" I snapped.

"Lily" James said with a hand on my arm.

"I think you should all go into hiding" Dumbledore said.

"No!" we all said immediately.

"We shouldn't have to do anything! It's Lily he's obsessed with"

"He'll go for Harry"

"Don't you go trying to blame Lily!"

"You leave my son out of this!"

"This is ridiculous!"

"Albus I'm not leaving"

"I've never run from a fight"

"This is not about your pride! It's about our family and what's best for it"

"Silence!" Dumbledore called over our arguing. "Of course it's up to you what you do. My protection will be here when you want or need it. I assure you all that I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe"

He stood up and gave Harry and Neville each a quick kiss with a soft smile on his face before heading for the door. "You know where to find me"

Alice and Frank left a moment after Dumbledore did and I sighed slumping against James.

"What should we do?"

"I'm not hiding" James said fiercely and I shook my head.

"James, you have to think about Harry now. He can't defend himself the way we can. What if we'd been home the other day? What do you think would have happened?"

"I'd have fought him off while you escaped. You're a good runner you'll think quickly and escape"

"You expect me to just run with Harry if we get attacked again?"

"Of course. A boy has to have his mummy"

"James at the very least if we take Dumbledore up on his offer we'll have a place to raise Harry. I mean we can't really stay here can we?" I said glancing around Sirius flat.

"No... you're right... I just... ok... we'll stay here a week just so I can get a bit better before going to Dumbledore. I can't be running all over the country with this" James said indicating to his wound.

"All right then. The end of the week" I agreed and he smiled leaning over to kiss my cheek.

"Can I come back into my own home yet?" Sirius called from outside.

* * *

_James_

This past week had been quite fun. Living with Sirius was like being back at Hogwarts. Plus Lily had gone into primal mode and didn't like being more the two feet away from me at any given time. It was fun having her follow me around when that was how I'd spent all those years in school doing the same to her. I'd had to draw the line when going to the bathroom though she insisted on joining me in the shower which had been very nice indeed.

At the moment we were making our way across Hogwarts grounds and up to the castle to see Dumbledore.

"And that's where Remus used to go when it was the full moon" Lily was explaining to Harry pointing to the Whomping Willow which swished its branches menacingly as we passed by. "And over there is Hagrid's hut. You and he will be the best of friends I'm sure but watch out for his pets"

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as Lily mentioned the various places on our way through the castle that I'd 'molested' her.

"I didn't molest you; don't give him the wrong idea about his dad"

"And up here daddy stole a kiss from mummy while she was innocently making her way downstairs to breakfast" Lily said ignoring me completely.

The students were mostly home for the holidays. We encountered two or three along our trip who were hurrying outside for a snowball fight.

We stopped on the third floor in front of the stone gargoyle that blocked the passage to the headmaster's office.

"Man its weird being here without being in trouble" I said making Lily snicker.

"Gum ball" she said to the gargoyle who stepped aside swiftly to allow us through.

We climbed the winding stair case and knocked on the door.

"Enter"

I held the door open for Lily and we both entered Dumbledore's circular office. The portraits of former headmasters waved and smiled at us in greeting though most of them were dozing in their frames.

"Ah! Lily, James and little Harry what may I do for you today?" Dumbledore asked standing from behind his desk and inviting us to sit down.

Lily sat down first with Harry all rugged up in his snow clothes and blankets to protect him from the cold. She eased him out of his carrier and began to unravel him from his layers. He didn't like that very much at all but it was quite warm in here.

Lily was wearing some clothes from what Sirius had called the ex-girlfriend pile as everything else had gone up in the fire.

I was lucky to be nearly Sirius' size and borrowed some of his clothes though he'd whined about me getting my filthy scent on them.

"We wanted to talk about your offer" Lily started when we were all settled down with tea set in front of us by an attentive house elf.

"Ah" Dumbledore said

"We don't really have anywhere to go and well we do need somewhere to settle. We can't exactly go running around with a baby" I said and Dumbledore nodded.

"No I certainly think not" he said

"We can pay of course; the insurance on my old place was pretty good"

"Nonsense my boy. You spend that money on buying yourself some new clothes and such. I must add Mrs Potter that leather suits you quite well" he said and Lily glanced at the tight leather pants she was wearing. Sirius certainly has a type.

"Oh thank you"

"Now I think I have just the place but you will have to give me a few days to organise everything"

"Certainly" Lily said

"Thank you so much" I said.

"We really appreciate it" Lily added then paused as if deciding to continue. "Sir, how did Voldemort find out about the prophesy?"

"Well the Hogs Head isn't exactly known for its respectable clientele"

"But-"

"It doesn't matter how Lily. He knows some, thankfully not all of it or we'd be in even more trouble"

"Is there anything we can do, or should be doing?" Lily asked.

"No, I think for now our first priority is your safety" Dumbledore said and Lily nodded carefully. "Now, onto more pleasant things. How is Harry doing?"

Lily immediately launched into a spiel on just how well Harry was doing. He could laugh and crawl and giggle and sort of clap and all sorts of things, he'd even been trying to say 'mama' though the closest we could get was 'mmm' he was only six months old.

* * *

Lily

"Oh it's perfect" I said stepping into the foyer of our new home.

James has sprinted into the house immediately to have a look around at every room. I stood in the foyer with Dumbledore and Sirius who was holding Harry in his carrier.

"It's wonderful" I said and Dumbledore smiled.

"You've only seen the foyer my dear"

"And I love it" I said simply making the old man laugh.

"Come, come let's take the tour"

"Lily there's an upstairs! An upstairs! We can go up stairs! There's four bedrooms up there!" James cried excitedly hurrying toward me. He skidded to a halt on the hardwood floor in the hall directly in front of me.

"I think we can be really happy here" I said with a grin.

"Yeah and with all those bedrooms maybe Harry will have a little brother or sister" James said

"Sounds amazing" I said and he smiled leaning forward to kiss me.

* * *

It's five in the morning and my God am I tired. Just wrote and posted another chapter for one of my other stories so I'm really tried. So super short chapter but I am done with this story I've said a few times I already have the ending written and all this is just filler crap. It's getting hard to write all the filler crap so I'm going to do the thing I hate... time skip. Good news I won't torture you waiting for an update... I'll be updating with the next and sadly final chapter very soon.

Penny


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